76ers Face Another Challenge in the Front Court With a Key Injury

The Philadelphia 76ers’ depth in the front court has taken another hit.

As Philadelphia’s two-way forward Dominick Barlow went through his second start with the team, he was removed from the lineup midway through the Sixers’ Saturday night victory over the Charlotte Hornets.

Dealing with an elbow-related setback, Barlow’s status went into question immediately following the Saturday battle. Unfortunately, the Sixers found out rather quickly that Barlow will not get a chance to play at the start of the week.

According to a team official, Barlow’s official diagnosis is a laceration to his right elbow. He will undergo a procedure to address the wound. The Sixers have ruled out Barlow for a minimum of two games.

The Sixers are on the court on Monday night to take on the Orlando Magic. Barlow lands on a crowded list of injured players for the Sixers, which includes Joel Embiid, Paul George, Jared McCain, and Trendon Watford.

Embiid and George are due to management and recovery reasons. As for Watford, he’s managing a hamstring-related setback, which has prevented him from making his Sixers debut this year so far.

Jared McCain is currently the only Sixer who is dealing with a notable multi-week setback. Ahead of training camp, the team announced that McCain had to undergo surgery on his thumb to repair a UCL tear.

Oct 10, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia 76ers forward Dominick Barlow (25) dunks the ball past Orlando Magic center/forward Wendell Carter Jr. (34) during the second quarter at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images | Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

What’s Next for the Sixers?

George and Watford’s injuries were already difficult for the Sixers to deal with. While Barlow was holding his own, especially with an impressive opening performance, the Sixers’ depth is really getting tested earky on.

Now, Philadelphia has to get creative. Jabari Walker, the 23-year-old forward, could see his minutes go up. On Saturday night, the Sixers rolled out Walker for roughly 15 minutes. He missed all three of his shots, but came down with four rebounds and blocked two shots on the defensive end.

During the preseason, the Sixers tested lineups with Adem Bona and Joel Embiid, which could be something they explore beyond Monday’s action against Orlando. With Embiid out of the mix against the Magic, Bona has a good chance at starting, with Andre Drummond taking up the backup role.

The door could be opened for Johni Broome to get some early action. The rookie second-rounder hasn’t taken the court to debut just yet, but he could be an option if the Sixers want to move with a deep rotation.

After Monday’s game, the Sixers will take on the Washington Wizards on the road to close out their first back-to-back of the year. Then on Friday, the Sixers will be back on their home court to host the Boston Celtics for the first matchup of the NBA Cup group stage. Barlow’s status for that game isn’t determined just yet.