SAN ANTONIO -- The Sixers will get more leaders back on the court once their injured players are cleared. The statuses of Joel Embiid and Robert Covington are uncertain for Saturday’s game against the Heat in Miami.
Embiid was not with the team in Dallas or San Antonio. Whether or not he joins the Sixers for the remaining two games of the road trip has yet to be finalized.
“It’s still up in the air,” Brett Brown said after the Sixers’ 102-86 loss to the Spurs. “I think it’s going to be a challenge. I feel like we will know categorically more in the next few days. But in my mind, I’m really trying to take the team that’s in that locker room and move them along and treat Joel that he will be just a really great addition if we do see him in Miami. But it’s not something I’m completely planning on at all.”
Embiid, who was named Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month for a third straight time on Thursday and named a participant in the Taco Bell Skills Challenge for All-Star weekend, has missed six of the Sixers’ last seven games.
Covington said the swelling in his hand has gone down. He attempted to shoot on Thursday and felt pain in the joints. Covington said once that discomfort is gone, he will have a better sense of when he can play.
Covington injured the hand during the Sixers’ home win over the Kings on Monday. He stayed in the game and recorded a double-double with 23 points and 10 rebounds to go along with four steals.