The Philadelphia 76ers were finally moving in the right direction, and now they face another setback with center Joel Embiid out of the lineup again.
Embiid suffered a sinus fracture Friday night, putting another dent into what largely has been a season of damage for the 76ers.
“It’s not that easy to deal with at times, but we got to do a little better of next-man-up, and fighting and pulling together,” coach Nick Nurse said. “We’ll regroup regardless of what the situation, and we’ll play better.”
The 76ers take on the host Charlotte Hornets on Monday night.
Both teams have won seven games, with two of Philadelphia’s victories coming against the Hornets.
The 76ers have won four of their last six games and were starting to show some consistency before Friday night’s 121-107 loss to visiting Indiana. That’s when Embiid played only 17 minutes (12 points, four rebounds, five assists) before exiting with his latest injury.
The news got worse as the 76ers on Saturday announced that rookie guard Jared McCain sustained a meniscus tear in his left knee against the Pacers and will have surgery. He is out indefinitely.
McCain, 20, has averaged 15.3 points, 2.4 rebounds and 2.6 assists in 23 games (eight starts) this season. His scoring average is the highest of anyone on the team who has played in at least 20 games for the injury-plagued 76ers.
“The only part that sucks about this is I think we were stepping in the right direction,” 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey said before the announcement on McCain. “Guys were kind of figuring out their roles, guys were figuring out what coaches wanted from them. We were playing the right way.”
The 76ers probably can’t afford another prolonged slide. They had two five-game losing streaks in the season’s first month.
“You just try to pick up the pieces,” Philadelphia forward Paul George said. “Stay positive, that’s all we can do. Injuries is a part of this game. We’re very aware of that.”
If there are soft spots in the lane without Embiid, it might be an ideal time for the Hornets to see the workload increase for center Mark Williams. He has gradually gained more playing time in the past couple of weeks after missing more than a month at the season’s outset. He recorded 15 points and nine rebounds in 17 minutes Friday night in a 109-95 loss at Chicago.
“A lot of stuff I need to improve on individually, and we need to improve on collectively,” said Williams, who has appeared in four games. “With each game, I’m getting more and more comfortable, with time increasing every couple of games.”
Charlotte has dropped nine of its last 10 games and failed to reach the 100-point mark for the sixth time this season in the defeat to Chicago. Brandon Miller has led the Hornets in scoring in each of the past seven games, taking 21 or more shots from the field in five of those games.
“I definitely think that we can do a better job of trying to diversify our shot profile,” Charlotte coach Charles Lee said.
There have been oddities from the 76ers throughout the season. For instance, against Indiana, ex-Hornet guard Kelly Oubre Jr. led Philadelphia with 13 rebounds for his third consecutive game with double-digit boards, while no other starter had more than five.
The 76ers beat the Hornets 107-105 in overtime at home on Nov. 10, and then pulled out a 110-104 triumph in Charlotte on Dec. 3 behind George’s 29 points.
For the 76ers, it will be consecutive games against Charlotte, with a rematch Friday night in Philadelphia. The Hornets will stop in Washington for a game in between on Thursday night.