George upgraded to questionable, Oubre and Bona sidelined for Sixers originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
The Sixers had several pieces of significant injury news Sunday.
The first worth noting is that Paul Georgeâ€s return appears imminent. George, whoâ€s yet to play this season for the 7-5 Sixers, was listed as questionable for the teamâ€s Monday night matchup vs. the Clippers.
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George underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left knee in July. Heâ€s been practicing for over a month and looked sharp in post-practice workouts.
A Sixers official said Tuesday that “the final stage†of Georgeâ€s return process involved “the continued strengthening of his left quadricep.†The 35-year-old forward seems very close to checking off that final box.
The Sixers listed Kelly Oubre Jr., Adem Bona and Joel Embiid as out.
On the injury report, Oubreâ€s injury is described as a “left knee sprain.†He suffered the injury Friday in the second quarter of the Sixers†loss to the Pistons. A team official said Sunday afternoon that Oubre has a left knee LCL injury and is meeting with specialists.
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The Sixers will need to make major adjustments without Oubre, who averaged 34.8 minutes over the first 12 games and posted 16.8 points, 5.1 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.1 steals per contest.
“Hopefully, it wonâ€t be too serious,†Sixers head coach Nick Nurse said. “But heâ€s really having a career year and heâ€s doing a lot of little things that donâ€t show up in the numbers as well. So weâ€ve got to take a good, strong look and see whoâ€s plugging into all those little areas. He loves to play, loves to be out there. Heâ€s super disappointed, obviously. … Letâ€s just hope itâ€s not too long. Heâ€s been great this year.â€
Justin Edwards is one obvious candidate to assume a larger role without Oubre. Dominick Barlow is another young player who looks set for plenty of minutes in the short term. He logged an impressive 29 against Detroit in his return from a nine-game absence with a right elbow laceration. Barlow said Sunday heâ€d only been able to do “a couple days of real cardio†while sidelined, but the 22-year-old forwardâ€s conditioning wasnâ€t problematic in a 10-point, eight-rebound outing.
“That was about a full load for him right there,†Nurse said. “That was a lot for him the other night. I just think heâ€s a really important part of what weâ€re doing. He plays really hard, he transfers the ball (well), heâ€s got IQ. He just does a lot of really good things for us. As long as he keeps playing like that, heâ€s going to play a lot.â€
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Bona will miss at least the next three games because of a right ankle sprain. Andre Drummond will presumably remain the Sixers†starting center for the time being.
Embiid will sit out his fourth straight game on Monday. He was a full practice participant Sunday, per a team official, and the Sixers have changed his injury designation from “right knee soreness†to “right knee injury management.â€
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