PJ Tucker Avoids 76ers’ Injury Report vs. Bulls

PJ Tucker plans to play in the 76ers' Friday night matchup against the Chicago Bulls on Friday night, despite suffering a contusion on Wednesday.

Pain won’t stop PJ Tucker from competing for the Philadelphia 76ers. Although he had an injury scare during Wednesday night’s game against the Indiana Pacers, PJ Tucker has been left off the Sixers’ injury report for their Chicago Bulls matchup on Friday night.

In addition to dealing with a pinched nerve, which has caused a “dead hand” for Tucker over the last few weeks, the veteran forward suffered a lower-body contusion in the first quarter of Wednesday’s victory against the Pacers.

While Tucker was down for a bit before limping back to the locker room, he wasn’t out for the rest of the game. The veteran forward wrapped up Wednesday’s game by playing 25 minutes. After the game, Tucker addressed the injury.

“Always something, dog,” he said. “Just gotta keep playing. Pretty bad contusion. I fought through it. I really didn’t know I was gonna be able to play that much. Toward the end, I just couldn’t move. I fought as much as I could.”

The Sixers will be shorthanded on Friday night when they face the Bulls. As 76ers center Joel Embiid is currently dealing with foot soreness, the big man has been ruled out of the lineup for the second-straight game. As for Tucker, he intends to continue playing through the pain.

The veteran’s decision to keep pushing through the pain isn’t shocking. With the Sixers playing 37 games so far this season, Tucker’s played in all but one matchup despite coming recovering from offseason knee surgery and dealing with a pinched nerve.

There could be a rest night in the future for Tucker, but the veteran is on pace to play in his 37th game of the year on Friday night. 

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