76ers Add Georges Niang to Injury Report vs. Rockets
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Monday night’s matchup between the Houston Rockets and the Philadelphia 76ers has a lot of juice added to it, considering it could be the return of James Harden.
Since the All-Star guard went down with a tendon strain in his foot in early November, Harden’s been off the court and targeting an early December return. Ironically, his first game back could be a competition against his former franchise.
Harden’s currently questionable for Monday’s matchup, and he isn’t alone. Sophomore guard Jaden Springer saw a playing status upgrade to questionable after missing a handful of games due to a quad strain. Meanwhile, the veteran forward Georges Niang has been downgraded to questionable ahead of the matchup.
According to the Sixers’ injury report, Niang is currently battling right foot soreness. As a result, he might not get the nod to play in Monday’s game on the road in Houston.
This season, Niang has yet to miss a matchup for the Sixers, which is a rare occurrence for a team that’s dealt with a handful of injuries throughout the year.
Throughout the first 23 matchups of the year, Niang’s averaged roughly 20 minutes on the court. During that time, he’s putting up ten points per game while knocking down 43 percent of his threes on five attempts.
If Niang can’t get the nod to go on Monday night, the Sixers will have to get creative with PJ Tucker and Paul Reed. While the team typically utilizes Reed as a backup five behind Joel Embiid when Montrezl Harrell’s not getting the nod to play, the third-year post player could get some extended run as the backup power forward for the night.
Of course, that’s only if Niang misses the matchup on Monday. While he’s questionable to go, Niang isn’t one to really miss games. During his first season with the Sixers last year, the veteran sharpshooter appeared in 76 of the 82 scheduled games. And despite battling knee concerns, Niang appeared in all 12 games for the Sixers’ 2022 playoff run.
His playing status for Monday is in question, but Niang will likely be considered a game-time decision.
Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for All76ers, a Sports Illustrated channel. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.
