PHILADELPHIA — Shootaround had formally ended Monday, but the work for Kelly Oubre and Trendon Watford was just getting started.
The two lingering injury concerns for the 76ers are nearing a return, coach Nick Nurse said Monday. Oubre and Watford took part in full-court 3-on-3 with 76ers staff for the better part of a half-hour after the Sixers were done with their shootaround ahead of Monday’s game against Denver.
“They’re both doing well,” Nurse said. “Would expect any day now to get some clearance.”
Oubre sprained a ligament in his left knee on Nov. 14 in Detroit. He has missed 21 games.
Watford suffered an adductor strain on Nov. 25 against Orlando. His absence is 16 games and counting. Watford also missed three games to start the season after suffering a hamstring strain in preseason.
Both wings offer drastically different looks for the 76ers when they’re healthy.
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Many times last season, Nick Nurse found himself in a similar spot to Nuggets coach David Adelman Monday night.
The extensive injury report listed eight names for the Nuggets, on the end of a back-to-back that started Sunday in Brooklyn. They included Aaron Gordon, Christian Braun and Jamal Murray, who shook off injuries to take part in the 127-115 loss to the Nets.
That’s on top of injuries to MVP center Nikola Jokic and his backup, Jonas Valanciunas, another instance in which a chance to see Jokic and Joel Embiid matchup has been scrubbed.
That left Adelman with nine available players, a predicament that Nurse, who assembled an NBA-record 54 unique starting lineups last year, could empathize with.
“They’re doing obviously whatever they need to do, what they think is best for the team, which is what we hope to do,” he said. “When we’ve got our guys that are available, we’re playing them. They’re worrying about themselves. We need to worry about ourselves.”
The shorthanded Nuggets gave Jalen Pickett his fourth start of the season, DaRon Homes his third and Bruce Brown his second.
“Having all four out tonight is not ideal, when you have your two centers out as well,” Adelman said. “But I know the guys that are going to play are ready to play.”
The Nuggets entered having lost four of five. The 76ers had won three straight and are starting on a stretch of 11 of 16 games in Philadelphia.