Explaining Absences of Multiple 76ers vs. Thunder

The Philadelphia 76ers were close to full health once again in their Saturday night matchup against the Oklahoma City Thunder. On Friday night, the team upgraded the star center Joel Embiid to probable after he missed their Wednesday night matchup against the Minnesota Timberwolves due to hip soreness. Eventually, Embiid was bumped up to available and got the nod to play.

Not everybody saw the same benefit, though. A couple of hours before the game tipped off, the veteran reserve Danuel House was added to the injury report. And although Jaden Springer wasn’t on the injury report initially, the Sixers noted a medical reason as to why he didn’t make an appearance in Saturday’s game at all.

House was dealing with a quad contusion prior to the game. Initially listed as questionable, the veteran was downgraded to out less than an hour before the game started. As for Springer, he was dealing with an illness, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Gina Mizell. The Sixers noted he would not be available to play while the matchup was in play already.

Although both Springer and House started the 2023-2024 NBA season seemingly out of the rotation, they’ve seen their roles expand a bit as of late. Throughout the first eight games of the season, House remained on the bench for five outings.

Prior to his absence on Saturday, House picked up minutes in seven straight games. He appeared in the Minnesota matchup for 16 minutes. During that time, House accounted for three points, two assists, two rebounds, and two steals.

As for Springer, he made six appearances in the first ten games of the year. He appeared in five straight matchups leading up to the OKC matchup.

Despite rolling without the two reserves, the Sixers found success on the road against a thriving OKC team. The Springer, House-less bench unit produced 20 points. The Sixers defeated the Thunder 127-123, with strong performances from the star duo of Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey.

With that win, the Sixers advanced to 11-5 on the year. They return to the court on Monday night to take on the Los Angeles Lakers. Right now, the availability of Springer and House is unclear.