76ers vs. Pistons: Will Nic Batum Play Friday?

An attempted block on Boston Celtics center Kristaps Porzingis left Philadelphia 76ers forward Nic Batum grabbing at his hand and heading back to the Sixers’ locker room earlier than the rest of his team ahead of halftime on Wednesday night.

By the looks of it, Batum’s night was assumed to be finished by many. Surprisingly, that wasn’t it for Batum’s shift against the Celtics.

Right before the Sixers and the Celtics fired up the second half on Wednesday, Batum was cleared to return to action after getting his finger evaluated. At the time, there was no diagnosis.

Batum didn’t finish the game out on the bench, either. In the second half, he collected 12 minutes of playing time and even got the nod to play over Kelly Oubre in crunch time as the Sixers defeated the Celtics with a 106-103 victory.

The former Los Angeles Clippers forward finished the game with five points, four rebounds, and one assist in 26 minutes of action. After the game, Batum was in good spirits regarding his injury but revealed he would get an MRI done on Thursday to make sure he’s fine moving forward.

Batum ended up getting diagnosed with a sprain. When the Sixers released their injury report for their Friday night matchup against the Detroit Pistons, they listed Batum as probable to play.

Although Batum’s official diagnosis was a shocking development, his return to Wednesday’s game hinted he should be fine moving forward. Fortunately, that will be the case.

When the Sixers face the Detroit Pistons, Batum will be available. Judging based on his first two outings of the year, Batum should expect to get more minutes in the Sixers’ rotation as he’s averaged 22 minutes of playing time, scoring eight points per game while draining 67 percent of his threes.

The Sixers and the Pistons are set to tip off at 7:00 PM ET.