Sixers vs. Hawks: Al Horford, Mike Scott listed as questionable

Al Horford (left knee soreness) and Mike Scott (right knee soreness) have both been listed as questionable for Thursday’s Sixers game against the Atlanta Hawks, per Kyle Neubeck of Philly Voice.

Well, good thing the Sixers got Joel back! They’re already down a starter due to injury in Josh Richardson, Horford would make two.

If Horford can’t go tomorrow, I would expect the starting lineup to be Simmons-Milton-Thybulle-Harris-Embiid, though I wouldn’t be shocked to see James Ennis in there either. This still leaves the Sixers thin on backup center minutes, so Kyle O’Quinn may pick those up. Scott also takes up a decent chunk of the rotation, though his minutes are more easily replaced by a likely combination of James Ennis and Zhaire Smith. Jonah Bolden may even make his way on to the court, as someone who can play a bigger wing role like Scott.

This seems like a precautionary measure, maybe the Sixers are considering getting Horford and Scott some rest. The Hawks are very possibly the NBA’s worst team, sitting at 15th in the Eastern Conference with a record of 12-36 (god bless Lloyd Pierce — it’s going to take that man a lifetime to get his career coaching record over .500 if you include his days as an assistant on Brett Brown’s staff). As long as Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid are on the court, this should be a very winnable game for the Sixers.