Handful of 76ers Miss Practice Ahead of Lakers Matchup

The 76ers had a few players missing practice on Thursday afternoon.

The Philadelphia 76ers are fortunate to have three days off between their last matchup in Houston and their next matchup at home against the Los Angeles Lakers.

While the time off is good for guys to rest, recover, and re-group, the Sixers are finding it hard to take full advantage of the much-needed practice sessions as injuries are piling up again.

The good news is that the Sixers aren’t dealing with any serious setbacks at the moment outside of Tyrese Maxey. After James Harden healed up from his tendon strain and Joel Embiid returned after battling a mid-foot sprain, Maxey’s small fracture is the only injury that’s leading to guaranteed missed matchups moving forward.

But there are some minor setbacks the Sixers are battling. On Wednesday, the 76ers returned to the court for their first practice session after a third-straight loss in Houston.

“I think we had seven guys that we practiced with today,” Doc Rivers said on Wednesday. “So, we didn’t do much.”

Rivers name-dropped Danuel House Jr., mentioning he “had something done with his foot.” As for the rest of the absences, there were too many for Rivers to name off the top of his head.

The Sixers’ head coach offered more clarity on who’s dealing with setbacks after Thursday’s practice session in Camden. According to Liberty Ballers’ Paul Hudrick, the Sixers were up to ten players at practice on Thursday.

Among those who didn’t participate were Maxey, House, De’Anthony Melton, and Georges Niang. When asked for clarity on Melton’s setback, Rivers reiterated that Melton’s lingering back issue had caused the team to hold him out as a precaution ahead of Friday’s game.

As for Niang, he’s been dealing with a foot-related issue, which caused him to miss his first game of the year on Monday night against the Rockets.

While it seems the Sixers’ latest round of setbacks isn’t too concerning, there are a few names to keep an eye on as the Friday night matchup versus Los Angeles approaches.

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for All76ers, a Sports Illustrated channel. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.