Philadelphia 76ers missing top scorers as Kings try to continue surprise playoff push
The Kings will catch a break as they try to continue their improbable playoff push against one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference on Thursday night at Golden 1 Center.
The Philadelphia 76ers will be without three of their four leading scorers. Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons and Josh Richardson have all been ruled out.
The Kings (27-34) have won three in a row, six of their last seven and 12 of 17 to get within 3½ games of the Memphis Grizzlies for the eighth seed in the Western Conference. The Kings are tied for ninth with the Portland Trail Blazers as their Saturday night showdown approaches.
Simmons has missed the past five games for the 76ers (37-25) due to a nerve impingement in his lower back. Embiid has missed three games with a sprained left shoulder. Richardson suffered a concussion in a 136-130 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday. He missed Tuesday’s 120-107 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers and will be held out again Thursday against the Kings under the NBA’s concussion protocol.
Embiid, a three-time All-Star, is averaging 23.3 points, 11.8 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.3 blocked shots. Simmons, a two-time All-Star, averages 16.7 points, 8.2 assists, 7.8 rebounds and 2.1 steals. Richardson is averaging 13.9 points, 3.4 rebounds and 3.1 assists.
The 76ers could still be formidable if small forward Tobias Harris, center Al Horford or guard Shake Milton get hot. Harris is averaging 16.7 points and 6.7 rebounds. Horford hasn’t fit as well as the 76ers hoped when they signed him as a free agent, but he had 15 points, nine assists and seven rebounds against the New York Knicks last week. Milton averages just 8.9 points per game, but he erupted for a career-high 39 against the Clippers on Sunday.
This story was originally published March 5, 2020 at 11:47 AM.
