Sixers Get Positive Update on Jared McCain; Joel Embiid Ruled Out vs. Knicks

The Sixers got both good and bad news ahead of Friday's game against the New York Knicks.

First, the bad news: Joel Embiid—who was originally listed as questionable with an illness on injury report— has been ruled out due to his illness and "right knee injury management."

As usual, Andre Drummond figures to start in Embiid's place, with Adem Bona, Dominick Barlow and Jabari Walker rounding out the frontcourt. They'll have their hands full against Karl-Anthony Towns and Mitchell Robinson.

Now, the good news, courtesy of Jared McCain:

Jared McCain is no longer playing with a brace on his right thumb, he said, though the Sixers have it listed on the injury report. “Thank God for that.”
— Adam Aaronson (@SixersAdam) December 19, 2025

McCain is still listed on the injury report as "injury/illness – right thumb; surgery recovery – splint," although his status is "Available," so there's zero concern about whether he'll play Friday against the Knicks.

Can McCain recapture his rookie form?

McCain briefly took the league by storm as a rookie before he suffered a season-ending meniscus tear last December. He has yet to recapture his groove this season, though. After averaging 15.3 points on 46.0 percent shooting (including 38.3 percent from deep) in 23 appearances last year, he's down to only 6.9 points per game on 36.2 percent shooting overall and 33.9 percent from deep this year.

McCain did have one strong stretch at the end of November where he scored at least 15 points in three straight games, but he came crashing back to earth since then. He finished with zero points in Sunday's loss to the Atlanta Hawks, although he did chip in five assists, three rebounds and two steals in only 18 minutes.

McCain is facing far more competition for backcourt minutes this year thanks to the additions of Quentin Grimes at last year's trade deadline and VJ Edgecombe in the 2025 draft. He hasn't had a long runway to shake off his rust yet.

"I guess that's pretty much the last thing now," McCain at shootaround Friday. "Just being able to get back in rhythm without a brace and without the tape around it. So last game was the first time we just tried it, and now it’s just getting used to it."

The Sixers have been preaching patience with McCain and expressing confidence that he'll eventually get back to his rookie-year form. He's still on a cost-controlled, rookie-scale contract for two more years, which is a major asset for the Sixers as long as they have three max contracts on their books, but they do need to figure out this season how (or if) he fits into their long-term plans. With Edgecombe looking like a long-term keeper, they may eventually have to decide between Grimes and McCain.

That's a problem for down the road, though. In the meantime, the Sixers can only hope that McCain shedding his brace will help him move closer to looking like the player who burst onto the NBA scene as a rookie.

Unless otherwise noted, all stats via NBA.com, PBPStats, Cleaning the Glass or Basketball Reference. All salary information via Spotrac and salary-cap information via RealGM.

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