There’s one new name on the Sixers’ injury report.
Still, as head coach Nick Nurse noted Wednesday, he’s become accustomed to an extensive list this season.
For the team’s first game after the All-Star break Thursday night vs. the Celtics, Justin Edwards (left ankle sprain) will join Kyle Lowry (right hip injury management), Eric Gordon (right wrist sprain) and Jared McCain (left lateral meniscus surgery) on the sidelines. Edwards picked the injury up at practice Tuesday.
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“We’re down to only four,” Nurse said with a laugh. “That’s not bad, man. That’s not bad. That’s a victory.”
Edwards will be out through at least the Sixers’ Saturday matchup with the Nets and is set to be re-evaluated early next week, a team official said. The undrafted rookie had ascended to a key role, starting nine straight games before a 13-point night off the bench last Wednesday in the Sixers’ defeat to Brooklyn.
What’s the plan without him?
“We have been in and out of the starting lineup with him,” Nurse said. “I don’t know where he would’ve landed tomorrow, but probably as a starter. So he’s out. That probably moves (Quentin Grimes) in there. And then we’re going to have to shift some guys up.
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“I think Ricky (Council IV) probably gets back into the fold there, with Justin out in the rotation at the wing. (Guerschon Yabusele) obviously plays at the four some, so that covers some of that three, four area that Justin would play.”
Nurse said he views Grimes as a likely starter whenever the Sixers are at full strength, too. He’s averaged 16.8 points, 6.3 rebounds and 3.8 assists in four games since being traded to the Sixers.
“I think that’s the fit,” Nurse said. “I think that group needs a dynamic shooting guard with some pop. Just the shooting in general is kind of what we’ve always envisioned. It’s what I thought that spot needed this year. Early on, we thought it was maybe Eric to start the year. Jared then kind of filled it in. Now I think it lands there just because I think that’s the fit the team needs with him on both ends.”
As far as the Sixers’ stars, the team’s marquee trio all practiced in full the past two days.
Paul George, who’d been bothered by left pinkie and groin injuries before the break, scored a mere two points against the Nets. Joel Embiid (left knee injury management) and Tyrese Maxey (right knee contusion) both missed that loss, which was the Sixers’ fifth in a row.
“I’m way better,” Maxey said. “I got hit the first play of the Toronto game and I couldn’t be as aggressive as I wanted to. It was pretty painful for about 48 hours, but I’m good now.”
According to Maxey, no sophisticated sort of treatment was necessary.
“Just rest, honestly,” he said. “I got hit pretty hard the first play. Scottie Barnes hit my knee and it was painful. That’s a bone bruise; that’s just pain. That’s nothing.”
Nurse seems to believe George’s health is also trending up.
“He was good today,” Nurse said of the nine-time All-Star wing. “I thought much better today. Yesterday I thought he competed really hard, but I again didn’t see a great flow or rhythm. Today he looked a lot better. Staying hopeful there.
“He said it’s starting to feel much better than it did early on when he was playing. And the weeks are ticking by here. We’re probably less than three weeks away from that (splint) coming off.”
It’s no grand revelation, but the 20-34 Sixers know they need their best players to be available and excellent to start stringing together wins again.
“Everybody’s out here and ready to compete tomorrow and throughout the rest of the season,” Maxey said. “Guys are optimistic. At the end of the day, it’s in our hands. If we want to move up in the standings, then we’ve got to go do that as a group collectively.
“It’s going to start with Joel, Paul and myself. And not just scoring, not just on the court, but also mentality-wise — holding ourselves accountable and holding guys accountable.”