Scheduled
Miami Heat at Charlotte Hornets
2026-27 · Regular season
Saturday NBA injury report: LeBron James questionable with low back and sciatica management, Cam Johnson out and Yves Missi hurts his knee
LeBron James is questionable for the 76ers against Milwaukee with low back and sciatica management while Joel Embiid is not listed, Denver rules out Cam Johnson, and New Orleans will examine Yves Missi's left knee in Denver.
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Philadelphia added LeBron James to its first injury report for Saturday’s home game against Milwaukee. He is questionable with what the team calls low back and sciatica management, on the front end of the 76ers’ first back-to-back of the season. Joel Embiid, who said Thursday he will play only one of the two weekend games, is not listed for Saturday.
Denver has ruled out Cam Johnson with the right ankle sprain he suffered on Thursday, and New Orleans is waiting on an exam for Yves Missi, who was helped off the floor in Utah on Friday night with a left knee injury. Statuses below are from the league’s 12:15 a.m. ET report on Saturday, when 10 of the 16 teams playing Saturday had not yet filed. Times are Eastern, with Cairo seven hours ahead, so every Saturday game tips after midnight Sunday in Cairo.
Bucks at 76ers, 7:30 p.m. ET (2:30 a.m. Sunday in Cairo)
James was not on the report for either of Philadelphia’s first two games. The 76ers listed him on Friday afternoon with the full designation “low back/sciatica management” and did not add any details, Adam Aaronson reported. Dean Wade is also questionable with the left ankle sprain that kept him out on Thursday. Dominick Barlow (low back stress reaction), Tacko Fall (left quadriceps strain) and Ariel Hukporti (right Achilles tendon tear) are out.
Embiid’s absence from the report points to him playing Saturday and sitting Sunday at home against Detroit, but the team has not said that. “I’m playing one of them,” he said after Thursday’s comeback win over Cleveland, adding that the team would decide which one. Milwaukee has not filed its report. Game Center.
Pelicans at Nuggets, 9 p.m. ET (4 a.m. Sunday in Cairo)
Johnson played 11 minutes before he sprained his right ankle late in the first half of Thursday’s 96-84 loss in Oklahoma City, and he will miss Denver’s home opener. The Nuggets still have not given a timeline. Alpha Diallo, who started the second half in Johnson’s place, is now questionable with a right wrist sprain. Spencer Jones (bilateral hamstring injury management) and Julian Strawther (left knee sprain) are out again, which leaves David Adelman short at forward for a second straight game.
Missi went down midway through the second quarter of Friday’s 120-119 loss to the Jazz, grabbing his left knee, and was helped to the locker room without putting weight on the leg, Rod Walker reported. The Pelicans ruled him out for the rest of the night. He played 9 minutes and scored 6 points, and Derik Queen played 29 minutes at center. “It’s a left knee injury and we’re going to get a look at it tomorrow (Saturday) in Denver,” coach Jamahl Mosley said after the game. New Orleans is 0-2, with both losses by one possession, and had not filed its report for Saturday. Game Center.
Warriors at Suns, 10 p.m. ET (5 a.m. Sunday in Cairo)
Phoenix lists Oso Ighodaro as doubtful with a right oblique strain, even though Jordan Ott said after Friday’s practice that Ighodaro will not play in the home opener, Duane Rankin reported. Luke Kennard has been upgraded from out to questionable with left knee tendinopathy. He missed the opener in Portland, practiced on Friday, and Ott said he is trending in the right direction. Mark Williams (left shoulder surgery) is out.
Golden State has not filed. Brandin Podziemski was cleared for his season debut on Friday against Memphis after missing the opener with low back soreness, then went to the locker room in the first quarter after taking a forearm from Zach Edey to the head, Anthony Slater reported. He came back before the end of the quarter and scored the Warriors’ last 5 points of the period. Game Center.
Nets at Cavaliers, 7:30 p.m. ET
Brooklyn’s only injured player is rookie Tyler Bilodeau (right shoulder sprain), who is out. Mikel Brown Jr. is available on Saturday, but based on what Jordi Fernandez said on Friday, the rookie will sit Sunday’s home game against Indiana, the second night of a back-to-back, Erik Slater reported. Cleveland has Nae’Qwan Tomlin (low back stress reaction) and Khalifa Diop (left knee injury management) out, along with two-way player Ernest Udeh Jr. Game Center.
Teams still to file
Spurs at Mavericks (8 p.m. ET): De’Aaron Fox was upgraded to available before Friday’s game and played 34 minutes on his sprained right wrist, scoring 19 points in a 114-110 loss to Houston in Austin. Keldon Johnson also played through his mouth laceration, with 8 points in 19 minutes. For Dallas, the question is Cooper Flagg’s left shoulder after his early exit in Indiana. Game Center.
Rockets at Hawks (8:30 p.m. ET): Houston played Steven Adams for 9 minutes after upgrading him to available, while Reed Sheppard (left knee contusion and bone bruise) was ruled out on Friday. Game Center.
Heat at Hornets (6 p.m. ET) and Wizards at Bulls (8 p.m. ET): None of the four teams had filed. On Friday, Charlotte was without Coby White, Kon Knueppel, Grant Williams and Kylan Boswell, and Washington was without AJ Dybantsa, Tristan Vukcevic and Jamir Watkins. Heat-Hornets Game Center, Wizards-Bulls Game Center.
Friday night’s final statuses
Memphis ruled out Cedric Coward (left wrist sprain) before tip in San Francisco and upgraded Isaiah Stewart (left ankle sprain) to available, while Golden State had Charles Bassey (right patellar tendinopathy) out. The Lakers ruled out Jake LaRavia (right ankle sprain) against the Clippers. In Indiana, Ben Sheppard was ruled out with a torn left meniscus and Aaron Nesmith returned from his hamstring strain.
What comes next
The 10 teams still to file must submit their first reports on Saturday morning ET, and teams update them after shootarounds and again in the final hour before tip. The names to watch are James and Wade in Philadelphia, Missi after his exam in Denver, Diallo, Kennard, Flagg and Fox. Sunday’s report will show which half of the back-to-back Embiid sits, and the Lakers’ first report for Sunday in Utah will show whether LaRavia can return. The injuries page tracks every team’s latest list.
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