After an impressive road win, the Philadelphia 76ers came out flat in the first leg of their two-game affair with the Cleveland Cavaliers to the tune of a 26-point thrashing at home. To make matters even grimmer, the team suddenly caught a glimpse of the injury bug when Dominick Barlow took a hard fall during an offensive sequence and seemingly hurt his back.
Barlow left the match and headed to the locker room with the help of his teammates, casting a dark cloud over the team as the 22-year-old has emerged as their starting power forward this season. Luckily, it looks like the 76ers came out of it happily, as Barlow is reportedly fine after such a nasty fall.
Like Nick Nurse exposed himself to the mediaBarlow will make a game-time decision on their second matinee with Cleveland. Initially, the head coach said after the game that the team would likely get an MRI for him in the coming days, but the young big man reportedly felt better during practice and ultimately didn’t get one.
It sounds like Philly has made a big breakthrough. Wow.
The 76ers make a huge breakthrough amid fears Dominick Barlow’s injury isn’t as bad as it seemed
Barlow remains questionable for their Friday night affair at home, but even if he ultimately misses this one, the 76ers can say they have escaped disaster. After all, the 22-year-old has become so important to them on both sides, especially defensively, as their regular energy man in the starting lineup.
The 76ers signed Kelly Oubre Jr. and Trendon Watford have also just returned from serious injuries, and if they had to lose Barlow to injury they would have lost their depth in the power forward position. Fortunately, that won’t be the case, although both players could see a longer spell out of caution despite Barlow’s status.
Philadelphia is getting closer to the halfway point of the regular season, so getting healthier will be even more important. The rankings in the East are starting to look a little complicated after the first-seeded Pistons, and the 76ers actually have a realistic shot at securing a higher spot, health permitting.
Of course, the 76ers need to be more careful with Dominick Barlow for now. He will certainly want to play, but the team has more than enough cap space to fill in for him if he needs time to rest, even if it is for a very short period of time.
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