DOMINICK Barlow

The injury report shows a short but clear progression. On Oct. 5, Barlow appeared as day-to-day for rest. The same day, he was also listed as day-to-day with a back and torso issue. Those two entries sat side by side at the start of the month. By Oct. 19, the back problem had become the whole story. He moved from day-to-day to out, and the reported diagnosis was a lumbar spine bone stress response. The pattern suggests the back issue was already on the radar before the regular season opened. Philadelphia first treated it as a short-term concern. It has since turned into a stretch of at least two weeks on the sideline, with a target of Nov. 2.

Barlow was a rotation big for Philadelphia in 2025-26. He appeared in 71 games and averaged 23.8 minutes. He scored 7.7 points per game and grabbed 4.8 rebounds. He added 1.2 assists, 0.9 steals and 0.7 blocks, and he turned the ball over 0.8 times a game. His efficiency stood out. He shot 53.9 percent from the field and posted a true shooting percentage of 59.7. His usage rate was only 12.5, which fits a player who finishes plays rather than creates them. The weak spots were outside shooting and the line. He hit 25.6 percent from three and 71.8 percent on free throws. His plus-minus was 0.4 per game, essentially even.

Barlow's most recent playoff action came in the second-round series against the Knicks in May. In four games he played between 11.5 and 15.6 minutes. He scored 7, 6, 2 and 5 points in the four losses, and he finished with 3, 2, 1 and 1 rebounds. The Sixers also met Boston in the first round. His minutes there were uneven. He played 10.7 minutes in a loss on April 26, 5.9 on April 28, 2.1 on May 2 and 6.8 on April 21. The two October games in the log, against the Knicks on Oct. 5 and the Celtics on Oct. 10, show zeros across the board in 0.0 minutes. He did not play in either.

Barlow is a 6-9, 224-pound forward who came up through Overtime Elite, and he wears No. 25. A two-week absence cuts into Philadelphia's frontcourt depth right as the season begins. Other Sixers names have come up in recent notes, including Simons, Bona and Jones, in a roundup passed along by Derek Bodner. Those mentions came before the injury news, and they do not say who will absorb his minutes. Philadelphia will have to sort that out in the opening weeks. Barlow's role last season was modest but steady, so the drop-off should be measured in depth, not in star power. The next marker is Nov. 2, the date the team has pencilled in for his return.