Sixers down Embiid and James to end back-to-back in Charlotte

The Sixers will be down at least two stars Saturday night when they finish their back-to-back. The team listed both Joel Embiid (right foot plantar fascia injury management) and LeBron James (low back sciatica management) as out for its matchup with the Hornets at Spectrum Center. Dominick Barlow (lower back stress reaction) and Ariel Hukporti (right Achilles tendon tear) are also sidelined. Both Embiid and James also sat out one leg of the 5-1 Sixers’ first back-to-back. Embiid has averaged 35.2 minutes through five games. The seven-time All-Star’s career high is 34.6 during his 2022-23 MVP season. James had his best performance so far as a Sixer in the team’s win Friday night over the Knicks, scoring 20 points and coming one rebound and two assists short of a triple-double. The Sixers listed three players as questionable on their initial afternoon injury report in Jaylen Brown, Jabari Walker and Tacko Fall. Brown and Walker each have a knee injury officially classified a