Jaylen Brown won’t be on the floor Friday night for the Sixers’ home date with the Knicks.
Philadelphia ruled out the wing after he was initially listed as questionable with left knee soreness, then downgraded to doubtful before the final call came down. Brown’s updated injury tag is left knee patellar tendinopathy, according to Kyle Neubeck of PHLY Sports.
Nick Nurse said Brown felt knee soreness after Wednesday’s win in Indiana and was unable to take part in Friday’s shootaround because of the issue. No timetable was provided for how long Brown could be sidelined beyond Friday.
With Brown unavailable, Nurse could go with either Kentavious Caldwell-Pope or Dean Wade in the starting lineup. In his pregame media session, Nurse said he was leaning toward Wade, Neubeck reported.
Brown has been productive through his first five games in Philadelphia, where he’s in his first season after spending the first 10 years of his career in Boston. The 30-year-old, a 2024 NBA Finals MVP, is averaging 20.6 points, 6.6 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 1.2 steals in 36.4 minutes per game while shooting .442/.409/.783. The Sixers enter Friday at 4-1.
The matchup also carries some extra competition on the calendar. Philadelphia beat New York in both teams’ season opener on Oct 20, and Friday’s game is the NBA Cup opener for both clubs, along with 18 others around the league.
East Group B includes the Sixers, Knicks, Cavaliers, Pacers and Heat. New York won last year’s NBA Cup title by beating San Antonio in the final, then went on to beat the Spurs in the NBA Finals a few months later to capture its first championship in 53 years.
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