Will Isaiah Joe Return to Sixers' Rotation vs. Rockets on Monday?

The Philadelphia 76ers will have the opportunity to expand their current six-game win streak to seven on Monday night as they are set to take on the Houston Rockets. While the Sixers will continue to miss a handful of players, they'll get a reinforcement on Monday night in Houston.

Second-year guard Isaiah Joe has been in and out of Philadelphia's rotation this year. After a strong Summer League showing and an even stronger preseason performance, Joe earned himself some minutes in the Sixers' primary rotation to start the year.

Unfortunately, Joe's preseason performances didn't translate to the regular season. Mix that in with the fact that he entered the NBA's health and safety protocol as he tested positive for COVID-19 back in November and Joe found himself in an uphill battle as minutes became hard to come by on a nightly basis.

Lately, though, Joe's garnered some decent playing time as the Sixers have been battling a handful of setbacks. In the last eight games he's seen the court, Joe has averaged 15 minutes of playing time. Just as he began to hit his stride, giving the Sixers some quality minutes, the young guard suffered a setback.

After checking in for seven minutes in Philadelphia's matchup against the Orlando Magic last Wednesday, Joe suffered a leg injury. Shortly after getting checked out by the Sixers' medical staff, Joe was ruled out for the remainder of the matchup as he was dealing with soreness on the back of his right leg.

While Joe was questionable going into the Sixers' Friday night matchup against the San Antonio Spurs this past Friday, the team ruled him out prior to tip-off. His absence on Friday marked the fifth time he was inactive this year. 

Barring any sudden setbacks, Monday night's game against Houston won't make it six for Joe as he's cleared for action once again. When the Sixers traveled to Houston on Sunday afternoon, the second-year sharpshooter was with the team as they left him off the injury report this time around.

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