The struggling Philadelphia 76ers had mixed news about their injuries on Friday.
Joel Embiid, the team’s star center, will miss his fourth straight game on Saturday night when the 76ers play the Pistons. He will be absent due to left knee injury management and personal reasons.
Paul George, who hasn’t played since November 20 due to a left knee bone bruise, is listed as questionable after participating in Friday’s practice. Caleb Martin, who missed Wednesday’s overtime loss to Houston due to a back injury, is also questionable.
Kelly Oubre Jr., a teammate of George, told The Philadelphia Inquirer that he was encouraged by how George looked in practice and believes George could help the team get back on track.
“Getting those reps, being able to see him feeling good, looking good,” Oubre said. “Obviously, just the presence alone does a lot for the morale of the team. We have to continue to just build and try to encourage guys and help guys get back to their full rhythm and strength.”
Martin isn’t fully recovered but hopes to play on Saturday.
“We’ve got guys banged up, and if I can go, I’m going to try to go,” Martin said. “I used to do the same thing in Miami. I would tell guys, even when I was really banged up, ‘I can give 10 minutes tonight.’ Whatever it is. I’m going to try to give whatever I can give and help the team the best I can.”
The 76ers need all the help they can get. They entered the season with hopes of a championship, adding George, Martin, and other free agents to complement Embiid and Tyrese Maxey. However, they are struggling, with a 3-14 record and having lost seven of their last eight games.
Detroit, on the other hand, got its first win of the season at Philadelphia’s expense, beating the 76ers 105-95 on October 30. Pistons guards Jaden Ivey and Cade Cunningham combined for 45 points and 10 assists in that game. Since then, Detroit has been playing better, holding a .500 record.
The Pistons are playing the second game of a back-to-back on Saturday. They just had one of their best games of the season, defeating Indiana 130-106 on the road in an NBA Cup game. Detroit shot 57.8 percent from the field, with three players scoring more than 20 points—Malik Beasley (25), Cunningham (24), and Ivey (23). Cunningham, who had missed the previous three games due to a hip injury, contributed 11 of the Pistons’ 35 assists.
“That was our emphasis on the scouting report and what coach was really preaching to us — moving the ball,” Cunningham said after the game.
Beasley is one of several veterans the Pistons’ front office brought in to provide stability. Cunningham, Ivey, Jalen Duren, and Ausar Thompson have benefited from their experience.
“It’s a lot of new guys with this group,” Cunningham said. “The young core, we’ve been together, but to have time together and be able to play together, feel each other out, that’s the name of the game.”
After a terrible season last year (14-68), the Pistons are showing improvement with a 9-12 record this year. The last time they had a season with a .500 record or better was in 2018-19.
“We’re a group of guys who are willing to sacrifice for something more than themselves,” said first-year Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff. “When you put a group of guys like that together, it’s a great start. We’ll continue to get better with the schemes and the technical pieces of it, but when you have guys playing out there that way, you give yourself a chance to win, and that’s why we’re in so many games, because our guys are playing selfless, competitive basketball.”
