NBA Daily: Embiid’s Sixers Keep Rolling, Porzingis Out Indefinitely, Nets Torch Hornets From Deep

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2026 — The Nets torched the Hornets from deep, the Pelicans erased a 24-point hole in Tulsa, and the Warriors ran the Lakers out of Chase Center — while Joel Embiid’s Sixers keep rolling through it all. But the loudest news this morning is off the floor: Kristaps Porzingis’s timetable is officially indefinite, and Philly’s backup center is done for the season.

Welcome to the Wednesday edition of the NBA daily — everything that happened, everything that’s hurting, and everything tipping off tonight, in one place. Tuesday’s four-game preseason slate had a little of everything: Brooklyn shooting the lights out, New Orleans erasing that 24-point hole in Tulsa, Denver getting its revenge in Utah, and Golden State hanging 45 on the Lakers in the first quarter. And the injury wire, as it tends to do in October, got louder than the box scores.

Injury WireThe bad news beat

The biggest story out of San Francisco isn’t anything that happened on the floor Tuesday — it’s what isn’t happening with Kristaps Porzingis. Per Anthony Slater on NBA Today via ESPN, his timetable is officially “indefinite” — and the team still isn’t saying what the health issue even is. This is a guy the Warriors just re-signed for two years and $40 million this summer after getting 16.1 points and 5.3 rebounds a night from him across 15 games last season. “I’m not marking him down as being out to start the season,” GM Mike Dunleavy said at media day — but indefinite is indefinite, and Golden State opens the real season October 21 against the Lakers. We went deep on what this means for the Warriors here.

In Philadelphia, the news is worse and more specific. Ariel Hukporti’s Achilles tear is season-ending, per ESPN’s Bobby Marks — a brutal blow for a young big who was carving out real minutes behind Joel Embiid. The cap math makes it hurt more: the Sixers sit just $1.8 million below the first apron and can’t sign a replacement until December 4. The internal options behind Embiid are now Dean Wade, Adem Bona, Dominick Barlow, and Jabari Walker — and Walker, whose $2.6 million deal is only $250K guaranteed, just put up 11 points and 11 rebounds in the opener. There’s also an open two-way spot if they want to get creative.

Elsewhere on the wire: Max Strus is out in L.A., and Ty Lue didn’t dress it up — “We are going to miss that tremendously.” Charlotte’s backcourt of the future is on ice too — Kon Knueppel and Grant Williams are both out for the preseason with hamstring issues and won’t be re-evaluated until the first week of the regular season, a rough start after Knueppel finished as the rookie of the year runner-up. Coby White is dealing with a calf strain, Brooklyn’s No. 6 pick Mikel Brown Jr. has an ankle issue, Kyrie Irving’s torn ACL rehab comes with a plan to play through January and build deadline value in Dallas, and Walker Kessler is sidelined with a finger injury.

Sixers WatchThe superteam rolls on

Say this for the LeBron/Embiid/Brown experiment: it looks like a superteam in the minutes that matter. The Sixers thumped the Knicks 120-97 on Sunday, and Jaylen Brown needed all of 17 minutes to drop 22. Rookie VJ Edgecombe chipped in 12 points and 7 rebounds. That’s the good version of this thing — three stars who don’t need 35 minutes each to bend a game.

The Hukporti injury is the dent in the armor, though. Embiid’s health has always been the season-long storyline in Philly, and the insurance policy behind him just tore his Achilles with the apron locking the medicine cabinet until December. That’s the thing to watch, not the 23-point preseason wins.

And in the week’s strangest headline, LeBron James disputed a story about confronting Joel Embiid at Sixers practice, per Hoops Wire’s Sam Amico. That’s all we’ve got on it — headline-level, no details — but in a season where every practice clip will be dissected, file it under: the microscope is already on.

Around the LeagueOne-liners

Preseason dustup of the week: Detroit’s John Collins grabbed Phoenix’s Dillon Brooks by the throat. October basketball, everybody. In Portland, new Blazers owner Tom Dundon told fans his goal is to “bring a championship to Portland” — while the franchise stands by the Chauncey Billups firing and narrows its broadcaster search to three candidates including Chris Miles. San Antonio is giving Fox, Castle, and Harper real minutes together, per Mitch Johnson. The Knicks are the defending champions and have a second-apron problem to show for it. Jarrett Allen might have another gear next to James Harden in Cleveland. The Wizards are unlikely to offer Anthony Davis a max extension. Charles Barkley named Jalen Rose as his preferred Inside the NBA successor. Victor Wembanyama is reportedly passing on U.S. interviews, 60 Minutes excepted. EuroLeague clubs rejected the NBA’s first proposal — talks continue. And Steph Curry’s two-year, $116 million extension carries a 2028-29 player option, per Shams.

Tuesday FinalsIn brief

Four games, four stories — and we broke them all down in detail here. The short version: Brooklyn hung 124 on Charlotte in a 34-point rout, shooting 55 percent from the floor and 20-of-37 from three with 31 assists while forcing 25 turnovers. Michael Porter Jr. had 16 points on 4-of-6 from deep and Julius Randle added 13 and 3 assists — from a team that finished dead-last in offensive rating and three-point percentage a season ago. Jordi Fernández talked about it after, via the NY Post.

New Orleans erased a 24-point deficit to beat Oklahoma City 116-110 in Tulsa — though the Thunder sat their main rotation, so file that one accordingly. The highlight was real regardless: a Jared McCain full-court pass to Aday Mara for the alley-oop, with McCain and Bennett Stirtz both staying hot. Mark Daigneault weighed in via the Thunder wire.

Denver got its revenge in Utah, 117-106, four days after dropping the opener 109-97 to the Jazz. And Golden State led wire to wire at Chase Center in a 124-98 rout of the Lakers — up 38 at one point, in front 99 percent of the night. Rookie Yaxel Lendeborg led all scorers with 17; Dalton Knecht played 22 minutes for 11 points; Sandro Mamukelashvili led the Lakers with 15. The Lakers get the Kings on Thursday at Crypto.com, 10:30pm ET on ESPN2.

Sunday’s action, for the record: the Lakers forced 27 turnovers in a 127-103 win over the Kings — the first time they’ve done that since the Kobe-Shaq era, with JJ Redick breaking it down via SI — plus Grizzlies 132-123 Hawks, Pistons 109-107 Suns, the Sixers’ 120-97 rout of the Knicks, and Wolves 116-97 Bucks. Our weekend roundup has the full picture.

TonightFive more

Wednesday brings a five-game slate: Wolves at Pacers from Hilton Coliseum in Ames, Iowa on NBA TV, Suns at Bulls, Bucks at Thunder, Magic at Grizzlies, and Warriors at Blazers for the nightcap. We went deep on every matchup — storylines, what to watch, the works — in tonight’s preview. Go read that and come back tomorrow for the fallout.