Well, it appears one reinforcement is on the way.
No, Paul George will not make his season debut in Detroit Friday and Joel Embiid’s status is murky at best, but it looks like there’s a chance two-way forward
Dominick Barlow could return to the lineup. The 22-year-old’s elbow laceration has healed enough to the point where Barlow was back on the practice floor Thursday.
“He’s back,” head coach Nick Nurse said. “He’s in. He’s ready to go.“
Barlow, now in his fifth NBA season, started the first two games of the 2025-26 campaign, including an impressive showing in the Sixers’ opening-night win against the Boston Celtics. He suffered the elbow laceration in the first half of the team’s home opener against the Charlotte Hornets and did not return to play in the second half.
Because of the awkward location and severity of the cut, a procedure was required to close it up. It also led to Barlow being put in a sling to keep his elbow immobile while the wound healed. He missed nine games because of the injury.
Though it wasn’t 100% clear if Barlow will be available against the Pistons Friday — the official injury report will be available Thursday evening — the fact that he was able to practice is obviously a positive step. Nurse has mentioned several times that he didn’t believe Barlow would need much time to ramp up given the nature of the injury.
Barlow pulled down eight rebounds on opening night and was solid defensively. The Sixers are currently 25th in the NBA in defensive rebounding percentage and 26th in defensive rating. Barlow should help.
As for George and Embiid, there was no new update from Tuesday. George is continuing to practice 5-on-5 and is strengthen the quadriceps in his leg. The team officially ruled him out Friday and we’ll await another update after he meets with doctors over the coming days. Embiid had imaging done which revealed no structural damage and is considered day-to-day. We’ll learn his status against Detroit with the evening injury report.
The only other nugget from Thursday is that Jared McCain has been assigned to the Delaware Blue Coats. As Nurse made clear, this is to help McCain improve his conditioning and find a rhythm. Remember — McCain had not played a game for 11 months before his season debut, surely the longest he’s ever gone without playing competitive basketball in his life.
“I just really want him to get some trips up and down the court,” Nurse said. “I think this is a good little window for him, a couple home games for them, and then he’ll be right back in the swing of things.”
The Blue Coats play two games at Chase Fieldhouse against the Greensboro Swarm on Thursday and Saturday. Nurse confirmed the plan is for McCain to play both games before returning to the fold for the Sixers.
