Shake Milton, Several Sixers to Miss Spurs Matchup on Friday

The Philadelphia 76ers are still working on getting fully healthy. Although they were close to getting there over the past week, the team suffered a few
Shake Milton, Several Sixers to Miss Spurs Matchup on Friday
Shake Milton, Several Sixers to Miss Spurs Matchup on Friday /

The Philadelphia 76ers are still working on getting fully healthy. Although they were close to getting there over the past week, the team suffered a few setbacks as COVID-19 continues to spread across the league, and physical injuries remain a factor.

When the Sixers host the San Antonio Spurs on Friday night, they'll miss a handful of players once again. On Thursday, when the Sixers released their initial injury report, several players were ruled out early.

Ben Simmons, who has missed every game for the Sixers this year, won't be making his debut on Friday as he continues to miss time due to "personal reasons."

Meanwhile, the rookie Jaden Springer, second-year big Paul Reed, and the young standout Tyrese Maxey have all been ruled out as they are in the health and safety protocol for the time being.

While Sixers' veteran guard Shake Milton isn't in the health and safety protocol, he will miss Friday's game due to an injury he suffered earlier this week.

On Monday, when the Sixers hosted the Houston Rockets, Milton took a hard fall in the second half of the dominant victory. When he left the court, he was ruled out for the remainder of the night as he was dealing with a back contusion, according to a team source.

Milton missed Wednesday night's game against the Orlando Magic due to his back injury. And he's set to miss Friday's game against the San Antonio Spurs as well.

The young veteran's absence is unfortunate for the Sixers. As Maxey's been off the floor lately, Milton would typically step up and start at point guard for Philly. However, they've been left with no choice but to utilize several off-ball players at the point guard position. The Sixers hope that Milton returns soon, but the young guard doesn't have a timeline in place just yet. 

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


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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