Brown Out With Left Knee Injury For Sixers Vs. Knicks

Brown out with left knee injury for Sixers vs. Knicks  originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

The Sixers downgraded Jaylen Brown’s status to out Friday night before their NBA Cup game vs. the Knicks at Xfinity Mobile Arena.

Initially listed as questionable, Brown was ruled out approximately two hours ahead of tip-off. The official designation for Brown’s injury was “left (knee) patellar tendinopathy.”

The other Sixers sidelined by injury were Dominick Barlow, Jabari Walker, Ariel Hukporti and Tacko Fall. Friday’s game is the first of a back-to-back set; the Sixers will hit the road and play the Hornets on Saturday. 

Brown had a 20-point, 10-rebound night Wednesday in the Sixers’ win over the Pacers.

“He reported soreness after the game in Indy,” Sixers head coach Nick Nurse said pregame Friday. “He wasn’t able to go through shootaround today and was ruled out.”

Nurse was asked about Brown and Walker each having the same “left patellar tendinopathy” listing. 

“I think it’s certainly different for each of them,” he said. “I think it’s a timetable of treatment, pain management and getting them feeling better. Hopefully, they’ll both be back soon.”

Brown’s durability and reliability were significant aspects that drew the Sixers to trade for him in the summer. The 30-year-old forward played 71 games last year in an All-NBA season and averaged 28.7 points, 6.9 rebounds and 5.1 assists in 34.4 minutes per contest. 

Nurse indicated Dean Wade would likely step into Brown’s starting lineup spot.

“I think we probably are going to do something like start Dean in place of him,” he said, “just because it feels like that will be better matchups once the subs start coming. We’ll be in a better flow for that.”