Sixers' Mike Scott Believes His Minutes Restriction is Lifted

Mike Scott could see more playing time moving forward.

The first half of the 2020-2021 NBA season has been difficult for Philadelphia 76ers veteran forward Mike Scott. After ending last year on a low note as he dealt with lower-body injuries throughout his time in the NBA bubble, Scott focused on getting his body into tip-top shape for the new season.

Unfortunately, it's been setback after setback for Scott. First, the veteran forward missed the start of training camp after testing positive for COVID-19. Then, his knee started bothering him as he suffered a contusion on New Year's Eve against the Orlando Magic on the road. 

Scott would go on to miss the next five games. On January 11, Scott returned to the Sixers' lineup and clocked in for 22 minutes in the loss to the Atlanta Hawks. The following game, he had to play overtime as he picked up 46 minutes in the win over the Miami Heat.

But the following game, Scott was out within five minutes. Once again, the veteran forward tweaked his knee and went back to the Sixers locker room to get it all checked out. While his setback wasn't season-ending, Scott did miss another stretch of games, and it was a notable chunk of time.

For the next 13 games, Scott was out of Philly's lineup. It wasn't until February 13 when Scott finally came back. Since then, he's played in seven out of eight games. During that time, Scott averaged just 13 minutes-per-game. It was unclear if his low playing time was planned -- or if that was just how the rotations were working lately -- but Doc Rivers revealed over the weekend that Scott has been on a minutes restriction.

At this point, Scott believes that's no longer the case. On Monday morning, the veteran guard met with the media virtually following a shootaround session. Scott mentioned that lately, the Sixers planned to restrict his playing time to around 18 minutes. Although he slightly exceeded that twice over the last two games, the team apparently doesn't intend to restrict him anymore.

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