Numerous 76ers Injuries Could Lead To Upset Victory for Hornets

The Philadelphia 76ers (5-1) take on the Charlotte Hornets (3-3) Saturday evening at 6:00 PM ET at The Spectrum Center.

The 76ers are working on a back-to-back after defeating the New York Knicks. Meanwhile, the Hornets are coming off a victory against the Brooklyn Nets. Both teams will be shorthanded; however, the 76ers could be without three of the five starters.

Here is the injury report for the 76ers-Hornets:

76ERS

Dominick Barlow - Out: Low Back Stress Reaction

Jaylen Brown - Questionable: Left Patellar Tendinopathy

Joel Embiid - Out: Right Foot Plantar Fascia Injury Management

Tacko Fall - Questionable: Left Quadriceps Strain

Ariel Hukporti - Out: Right Achilles Tendon Rupture / Tear

LeBron James - Out: Low Back/Sciatica Management

Jabari Walker - Questionable: Left Patellar Tendinopathy

HORNETS

Michael Ajayi - Out: G League - Two-Way

Kylan Boswell - Out: G League - Two-Way

Kon Knueppel - Out: Left Hamstring Strain

Coby White - Out: Left Calf Strain

Grant Williams - Out: Right Hamstring Strain

The 76ers are really going to have to kick it into high gear if they want to pull this one off. Some expected to see LeBron James and Joel Embiid on this list from time to time, but it’s hard to wrap your head around the thought that Jaylen Brown could miss his second straight game. With the starting lineup banged up plus the weak center depth, this is going to be a game heavily reliant on Tyrese Maxey.

VJ Edgecombe is going to have to do more than he’s been asked to do so far this season. Scoring is going to have to be his main priority tonight in order to help Maxey out and keep him from overworking himself. Edgecombe will also be tasked with guarding the best scorer on their roster, which could be Dennis Schroeder. If not, it will be up to Edgecombe to help by any means necessary.

The biggest question mark is how the bench will perform in this game. Anfernee Simon has had the green light as of late, and he’s going to have to duplicate that performance from a few nights ago, or this game could become very stagnant. Adem Bona is going to have to be very complimentary in this game, as he has to handle a major workload at center. Besides him, nobody is available unless head coach Nick Nurse is going to run a small ball set.

This is new territory for everyone involved. The hope is this game doesn’t get out of hand and force the 76ers to be in a situation that exposes any weaknesses. The good thing is the Hornets are dealing with major injuries of their own. If the 76ers can come out of this with a win, it will disparage anyone from criticizing the structure of this roster.