ORLANDO, Fla. — The Philadelphia 76ers are heading into Wednesday’s matchup with the Orlando Magic short-handed once again. They will be without Joel Embiid for the second straight game to begin this road trip while Nic Batum will miss his fourth straight game with a right hamstring strain.
Batum suffered the hamstring injury in a Dec. 18 home loss to the Chicago Bulls. The Sixers have made up for his loss with the strong play of Kelly Oubre Jr., but Batum is a valuable veteran who does a number of good things for them on the floor.
Coach Nick Nurse hopes Batum will return soon.
“Nico is really close,” said Nurse before the matchup with the Magic. “We’ll have him this weekend. I’m not sure if we’ll have him by Friday. I think he’ll be ready to go for one of the two. Joel, there’s no change. He’s getting treatment. He’s on court again and we’ll update it tomorrow. His status.”
The Sixers will face the Houston Rockets on Friday and the Chicago Bulls on Saturday to finish the trip.
“I think he’s in good shape right now,” Nurse added of Batum. “I just think it just needs a little bit more testing and conditioning just to make sure it’s ready to go. I think these next couple days, get him there. I mean, (Vice President of Athlete Care Simon Rice) told me it will probably be one of the two games, but he doesn’t know which one yet.”
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