The Philadelphia 76ers hope to have Joel Embiid back in the lineup when they continue a three-game Western swing with a matchup against the Sacramento Kings on Thursday night.
After sweeping a two-game homestand, the Embiid-less 76ers (37-32) took a pounding at the hands of Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets on Tuesday night, falling 124-96.
Perhaps the only piece of good news for the 76ers was coach Nick Nurse announcing that Embiid, who has missed 10 straight games with a strained right oblique, has been making progress toward returning in off-day workouts and pregame warmups.
Nurse left the door open for the possibility his big man could return in Sacramento, or perhaps Saturday in the trip finale against the Utah Jazz. Playing both games with a day off in between hasn’t been ruled out, either, although he’s listed as doubtful vs. Sacramento.
Embiid had his fourth-highest scoring night of the season when the Kings visited Philadelphia on Jan. 29, going for 37 points. He also found time for eight assists in a 113-111 win.
Assists were hard to come by for anybody in the trip opener at Denver, as the 76ers shot just 39.4% overall and made just nine of their 41 3-point attempts (22%).
While recognizing the presence of Embiid would help create easier opportunities, Nurse noted after the Denver game that he’d take his chances with those same shots moving forward.
“We got to some great spots,” he insisted to reporters after the game. “Had some open 3s. We got to some great 15-footers. We just didn’t hit any of them.”
The 76ers also currently are without two of their best perimeter shooters — Paul George, out on suspension, and Tyrese Maxey, who is dealing with tendon damage in his right pinkie.
Like Thursday’s guest, the Kings (18-52) will be trying to rebound from a disastrous effort in their last outing, a 132-104 home loss to the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday night. The Kings had won four of five entering the game.
Warming up for a potential showdown with Embiid, Kings rookie big man Maxime Raynaud went head-to-head with San Antonio defensive standout Victor Wembanyama in Tuesday’s loss and walked away with a career-best 32-point performance.
The achievement got lost in the blowout nature of the game, however, as well as teammate Russell Westbrook earning a piece of NBA history by moving into fifth place on the all-time assists list with 10,343, now eight ahead of No. 6 Steve Nash and nine ahead of No. 7 Mark Jackson.
It gave the club’s 52nd loss a different feeling, rookie Nique Clifford admitted afterward.
“We are really a part of history,” he expressed to the media. “(Westbrook) is making his legacy, displaying his greatness on a night-to-night basis just breaking records. We can’t take that for granted. It’s pretty special to be around Hall of Fame-level players like him.”
Westbrook has done more than just pad his assist totals during the Kings’ improved play of late. The veteran had two triple-doubles during the club’s season-best run of four wins in five games, raising his NBA all-time-leading total to 209, 18 more than Nikola Jokic in second place.
–Field Level Media
