76ers Veteran's Injury Concerns Linger Ahead of Jazz Matchup

Will Marcus Morris face the Jazz on Thursday?
76ers Veteran's Injury Concerns Linger Ahead of Jazz Matchup
76ers Veteran's Injury Concerns Linger Ahead of Jazz Matchup /

Last weekend, the Philadelphia 76ers were fortunate to get their veteran forward Marcus Morris back in the mix. Lately, Morris has been dealing with plantar fasciitis, which has forced him to miss two games in a row last week.

First, Morris missed the matchup against the San Antonio Spurs at home last Monday. While he made the trip to Indiana, which marked the beginning of a five-game road stint, Morris was ruled out against the Pacers. With that absence, Morris missed consecutive matchups for the first time as a member of the 76ers.

Last Saturday, Morris returned to the Sixers’ lineup to face the Denver Nuggets. With the 76ers missing several key players, Morris collected a start and saw his minutes increase to 33 for the night. During that time, Morris produced 17 points, four rebounds, and two assists in the six-point loss against the defending NBA Champions.

Two nights later, the Sixers fired up a back-to-back set against the Portland Trail Blazers. Cleared for action once again, Morris resumed his role off the bench. The veteran checked in for a little under 22 minutes. During that time, he knocked down three of his seven shots from the field for nine points.

Unfortunately, Morris’s injury concerns didn’t disappear. When the Sixers prepared for their matchup against the Golden State Warriors less than 24 hours after concluding a game against the Blazers, Morris was downgraded to out. He missed his fourth game with the Sixers after getting ruled inactive.

Thursday’s outing against the Utah Jazz will become a similar scenario for Morris. According to the 76ers’ injury report, Morris is listed as out. He’ll miss his fourth game in six outings.

Without Morris, the Sixers’ frontcourt depth takes another big hit against the Jazz, as the Sixers are already down Joel Embiid and Robert Covington. Also, the Sixers will be without Nic Batum, who is listed as questionable due to hamstring tightness.

The Sixers and the Jazz are set to tip-off at 10 PM ET. 


Published
Justin Grasso
JUSTIN GRASSO

Title: Credentialed writer/reporter covering the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated’s FanNation Email: JustinGrasso32@Gmail.com Location: Philadelphia, PA Expertise: Reporting, insight, and analysis on the Sixers and the NBA  Justin Grasso is a credentialed writer and publisher covering the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated’s FanNation.  Grasso got his start in sports media in 2016 with FantasyPros, working the news desk, providing game-by-game player analysis and updates on the Portland Trail Blazers and the Golden State Warriors. By 2017, he joined FanSided’s Philadelphia Eagles site as a staff writer. After spending one season covering the Eagles as a staff writer, Grasso was promoted to become the site’s Co-Editor. For the next two NFL seasons, he covered the Eagles closely before broadening his NFL coverage. For a brief stint, Grasso covered the NFL on a national basis after joining Heavy.com as an NFL news desk writer. In 2019, Grasso joined the 76ers' beat on a part-time basis, stepping into a role with South Jersey’s 97.3 ESPN. Ahead of the 2019-2020 NBA season, he concluded a three-year stint covering the Eagles and joined the Sixers beat full-time. Grasso has covered the 76ers exclusively since then for Sports Illustrated. He is a member of the Pro Basketball Writer’s Association.  Twitter: @JGrasso_ Instagram: @JGrassoNBA