Shake Milton's Playing Status vs. Orlando Magic

Lately, the Philadelphia 76ers have missed their backup point guard, Shake Milton. Dating back to Philadelphia's January 3 matchup against the Houston Rockets, Milton went out with a sudden back injury after landing from a fall.

Clearly in pain, Milton left the court to get his back checked out. Although the Sixers never made an announcement during the game that he wouldn't return, Milton's night ended after he spent 20 minutes on the floor. He shot 2-7 from the field for five points during that time.

After the Sixers defeated the Houston Rockets that Monday night, a team official confirmed that Milton was not medically cleared to return to the game. As Milton suffered a back contusion, he was expected to miss some time moving forward.

As it turns out, Milton's injury was quite serious. Not only was he ruled out for the rest of that January 3 matchup against Houston, but the veteran guard was listed as out for the next four games. Ahead of Milton's fifth-straight absence against the Boston Celtics, his head coach Doc Rivers offered a not-so-promising update on Milton's status.

"Backs are backs, and it seems like it's pretty significant," Rivers said last Friday. "Not surgical, but he's still really struggling. So, I don't foresee him back anytime soon. The fact that I probably could beat him in a race today tells me he's a long way away."

After Rivers' update, Milton went on to miss matchups against Boston, the Miami Heat, and the Washington Wizards. When the Sixers take on the Orlando Magic on Wednesday night, Milton will be absent once again as he's already been ruled out.

Wednesday's game will mark the seventh-straight game Milton will miss. Unfortunately, the absences keep racking up for the young veteran, who's had a hard time staying healthy this season.

When the regular season started back in late October, Milton was battling an ankle injury, which caused him to miss the first four games of the 2021-2022 NBA season. 

He then missed five games beyond that, with four of his absences being consecutive as he was in the NBA's health and safety protocol. In total, Milton has missed 16 games this year, and his absence on Wednesday will make it 17 as he continues to heal up from his back contusion. 

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.