Caleb Martin Avoids Injury Scare vs Magic on Friday

Caleb Martin left for the locker room for a bit against the Magic on Friday.

Nov 24, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia 76ers forward Caleb Martin (16) looks on against the Los Angeles Clippers in the second quarter at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Ross-Imagn Images / Kyle Ross-Imagn Images

As the Philadelphia 76ers and the Orlando Magic battled it out in the first quarter of Friday night’s game, the Sixers saw one of their players head back to the locker room early.

The veteran forward Caleb Martin was seen grabbing around his left ankle/foot area, clearly dealing with discomfort. While Martin stayed in the game to shoot his free throws after getting fouled, he ended up checking out of the game shortly after and went back to the Sixers’ locker room.

After getting checked out for a bit, the Sixers cleared Martin. He was available to return to the court.

Caleb Martin is back from the locker room and sitting on the Sixers bench.

— Adam Aaronson (@SixersAdam) December 7, 2024

Lately, Martin has been dealing with another setback. During the Sixers’ November 22 matchup against the Brooklyn Nets, Martin took a hard fall on his back. He was in pain throughout his 29-minute shift in the 15-point win over the Nets.

While Martin played in the Sixers’ following game against the Los Angeles Clippers, he only saw the court for 13 minutes. 76ers head coach Nick Nurse didn’t think the forward looked great physically. Martin also struggled, making just one of his eight shots from the field.

Over the next two games, Martin stayed off the floor. The Sixers went 1-1 during that stretch, defeating the Detroit Pistons but losing to the Houston Rockets in overtime.

On December 3, Martin returned to the court. He came off the bench for 24 minutes against the Charlotte Hornets. Martin scored five points on 22 percent shooting. He also had four rebounds on the defensive end.

On Wednesday, Martin checked in for a 23-minute shift in the first of two matchups against the Magic this week. Martin shot 4-8 from the field for nine points. He also had five rebounds and two assists.

Friday’s game was the 19th outing of the year for Martin. This year, he started in all but three games. Leading up to the Orlando matchup, Martin produced 10 points on 41 percent shooting from the field. He also produced five rebounds and two assists throughout the year.

The Sixers are looking to improve to six wins after starting the year at 5-15. While they continue to deal with injuries and had a scare from Martin on Friday, the veteran forward returned to the court with a little over nine minutes left in the second quarter.