76ers lose Embiid, Simmons to injury
Loss of All-Stars is a ‘painful bind’
The Philadelphia 76ers are down two All-Stars.
Already missing Ben Simmons because of a back injury, the 76ers played without center Joel Embiid against New York with a sprained left shoulder.
“It’s a painfully obvious bind,” Philadelphia coach Brett Brown said. “We’re missing two All-Stars. You yank that from the team and it’s painful.”
Embiid was injured Wednesday night in a loss at Cleveland when he collided with Ante Zizic. X-rays after the game didn’t show a fracture.
He was being reevaluated prior to the game Thursday, and the 76ers said they would have another update Friday. Embiid sat for the 17th time due to injury or suspension.
Simmons missed his third game. Injured in a practice, he has a nerve impingement in his lower back and will miss at least two weeks.
Suns
Forward Kelly Oubre Jr. might miss the rest of the season because of a torn meniscus in his right knee. The Suns have looked for possible buyout candidates or free-agent additions to replace Oubre, with the expectation that the fifth-year forward will miss the rest of the season. Oubre will seek a second opinion on the injury. Oubre, 24, is averaging a career high of 18.7 points this season.
Timberwolves
The NBA fined Minnesota $25,000 for resting guard D’Angelo Russell Sunday in a game against Denver. Russell missed the 128-116 loss for what the Timberwolves called “planned rest” and Russell has played in each of the team’s past two games. But the league said Russell was a healthy player under league policy in that Nuggets game and fined the team for his absence. Russell has dealt with a variety of injuries this season. “While we respect the league’s guidelines and standards, we are a player-centric organization. As a new player in our program, we chose to rest D’Angelo in order to learn his body better and to optimize his health during a difficult stretch of games and travel.”
Nets
Just two games ago, it seemed there was no question whether Brooklyn would make the playoffs. But after giving up 74 points and a 19-point lead in the second half against the Magic and losing to the Wizards thanks to brutal turnovers coach Kenny Atkinson described as “infantile,” it seems the Nets have lost focus. “I think we all know we have to pick it up,” DeAndre Jordan said. “This is an important time in us getting ready for the postseason if that’s where we’re going to be. We’ve got to win games like this, not only against the Wizards but against other teams.”
Elsewhere
Kobe Bryant memorabilia, including two of his Lakers uniforms and cement handprints from his induction into the Grauman’s Chinese Theater Hall of Fame gallery, are going up for sale in April. Julien’s Auctions said that the items would be a part of its annual sports auction that includes a silver medal from the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. Bryant’s items already were being planned for auction when he, his daughter Gianna and seven others were killed in a helicopter crash Jan. 26.