Sixers Will Be Even More Short-Handed Than Usual Against Jazz

Fresh off an absolute thumping at the hands of the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday, the Sixers have to dust themselves off and get right back off the mat. They're heading into the second night of a back-to-back on Wednesday, although the good news is that they're facing the Utah Jazz, who've already been fined $500,000 this year for egregious tanking.

The bad news is that they'll be without standout rookie VJ Edgecombe.

Edgecombe left Tuesday's loss late in the first half due to a back injury and did not return. On Wednesday, the Sixers confirmed that an MRI revealed a lumbar contusion that will cause Edgecombe to miss the game against the Jazz.

An MRI confirmed today that VJ Edgecombe suffered a lumbar contusion.

Edgecombe is out for tonight’s game against Utah and will be reevaluated ahead of the team’s next game at Atlanta.
— Austin Krell (@NBAKrell) March 4, 2026

The Sixers don't play again until Saturday, so they may just be giving Edgecombe the night off to buy him a few days of rest. He isn't the only key rotation player who won't be suiting up Wednesday, though.

Joel Embiid (oblique), Paul George (suspension) and Johni Broome (meniscus) were already ruled out well before Wednesday's injury report came out. Joining them on that report is Kelly Oubre Jr., who will miss his second straight game with an undefined illness.

The Jazz are also heading into Wednesday's game short-handed. Jaren Jackson Jr. (knee), Walker Kesssler (shoulder), Jusuf Nurkić (nose) and Vince Williams Jr. (ACL) are all out for the season, while Lauri Markkanen (hip) is out for at least another week due to a hip injury that he recently suffered in practice.

Is this another trap game for the Sixers?

On paper, this should be an easy win for the Sixers. The Jazz have lost six straight games and have gone 6-23 since the start of the new year. They owe their first-round pick to the Oklahoma City Thunder if it lands outside of the top eight this year, so they have zero interest in winning games for the rest of the season.

They might not have a choice Wednesday.

Without Edgecombe, Oubre, George and Embiid, the Sixers are down four of their five best players. Tyrese Maxey will do his damnedest to keep them afloat, but he doesn't have much in the way of reinforcements behind him.

Meanwhile, the Jazz might only be getting stronger.

Third-year guard Keyonte George played only two games in February due to a right ankle sprain, but he's been back in Utah's lineup the past two games and is not even listed on the injury report Wednesday. The Jazz nearly toppled the short-handed Denver Nuggets—who did still have Nikola Jokić, Jamal Murray and Christian Braun—on Monday due to a 36-point outing from George.

Between George, Ace Bailey, Kyle Filipowski, Isaiah Collier and Brice Sensabaugh, the depleted Jazz have more bucket-getters than the depleted Sixers will have on Wednesday. The Sixers bought themselves some rest by getting blown out so resoundingly Tuesday, but them being on the second night of a back-to-back likely won't help, either.

Don't be surprised if this is a more hard-fought victory than the teams' respective records might suggest.

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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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