Dominick Barlow’s wait to get back on the floor is going to stretch a little longer.
The Sixers forward met with a specialist on Tuesday to have his back injury evaluated, and head coach Nick Nurse said Wednesday that Barlow “still has a little bit of time to wait,” while also expressing confidence that the issue is moving in the right direction. Nurse estimated Barlow will need another 10-to-12 days before he can resume on-court work, according to Derek Bodner of PHLY Sports.
That points to at least a couple more weeks before the 23-year-old, who is set to become an unrestricted free agent next summer, is ready to play. His current injury tag is low back stress reaction, after he was originally diagnosed with a lumbar bone spine stress response.
Philadelphia’s frontcourt health took another hit Wednesday night when Adem Bona suffered a neck injury in the win in Detroit. Nurse said afterward that Bona appeared to be “OK,” per Kris Rhim of ESPN, but the big man has since been listed as doubtful for Friday’s game in Cleveland with a cervical spine strain, according to Kyle Neubeck of PHLY Sports. The Sixers are already without Barlow and Ariel Hukporti, who went down with a season-ending Achilles tear in the preseason.
Elsewhere, Jalen Johnson is at least in the mix to return for Atlanta. The All-NBA forward has missed the Hawks’ last two games because of a left ankle sprain, but he is questionable for Friday’s NBA Cup opener against Washington, per Brad Rowland of Locked on Hawks.
Even if Johnson gets the green light, the Hawks will still be short-handed up front. Asa Newell has been ruled out after suffering a left great toe hyperextension, and Jock Landale is set to miss a third straight game with a left hip strain.
Atlanta is also still waiting on Mouhamed Gueye, who has a left foot fracture, and Henri Veesaar, who is recovering from a right ACL tear.
In Dallas, Santi Aldama looks close to making his 2026/27 debut - and his Mavericks debut, too. Grant Afseth of Dallas Sports Journal reported that the Spanish forward/center is probable for Friday’s home game against Utah after missing time since March following right knee surgery. Head coach Dusty May said Aldama was “ very, very close ” to returning after sitting out Wednesday’s game.
And in Sacramento, Dylan Cardwell is finally back in the mix. The Kings center made his season debut in Wednesday’s loss to the Lakers, finishing with four points, six rebounds and a steal in 13 minutes. James Ham of ESPN 1320 noted that the second-year big man had been sidelined by a calf strain during the preseason.
In Other News...
Sixers Fans Have Seen This Before As Porzingis Saga Nears A Harsh End
Kristaps Porzingis is back in the kind of limbo that NBA fans know can turn messy fast. The Golden State Warriors are not paying his salary while he is sidelined by a health condition, and with the February 11 trade deadline approaching, his contract is still movable if the front office decides to act. For Philadelphia fans, the whole thing has an uncomfortable familiar feel, even if the details are not the same as the Ben Simmons standoff that once dominated the league conversation.
Porzingis has not asked out, but the uncertainty around his future is hard to ignore, especially with retirement reportedly part of the discussion. The Warriors can keep exploring trade options, yet the bigger question is whether there is still a path back to the floor at all. For Sixers followers, it is another reminder of how quickly a roster issue can shift from a basketball matter into something far more complicated. [Read more 🡒]
76ers Keep Rolling But One Lineup Issue Just Got Harder To Ignore
The 76ers kept their early-season surge going with a 112-106 win over the Pistons, pushing them to 8-1 and the best record in the NBA. Jaylen Brown delivered a season-high 30 points and seven rebounds, while Joel Embiid added 26 points and 15 rebounds as Philadelphia leaned on its top-end talent to close out another tight game.
Still, the rotation picture is starting to draw more attention as the wins pile up. Anfernee Simons had a limited impact with minimal playing time, and the way Philadelphia is handling that group will be worth watching as the schedule gets tougher and the margins get thinner. Even with the team rolling, the balance of minutes and roles is becoming harder to overlook. [Read more 🡒]
76ers Hot Start Is Creating A Debate Fans Cant Ignore
The early returns in Philadelphia have been hard to dismiss. An 8-1 start has the 76ers sitting atop the Eastern Conference by 1.5 games, and it has come despite plenty of preseason skepticism about how the roster was built and whether the opening stretch would be tough enough to tell us anything real.
Instead, the Sixers have handled a schedule that has already included several playoff-caliber opponents from last season, with more tests still ahead against teams like the Knicks, Pistons and Cavaliers. It is still far too early to make any kind of Finals prediction, but the hot start has already turned the conversation from doubt to a debate fans cannot ignore. [Read more 🡒]