The Philadelphia 76ers announced that Joel Embiid and Paul George will both miss the Sixers’ season opener Wednesday night. Embiid will also miss Friday’s matchup against Toronto and Sunday’s game in Indiana. He missed the preseason due to “left knee injury management” and is reportedly responding well to the treatment. He will ramp-up activities in practice this week before being reevaluated.
George is supposed to be reevaluated this week after suffering a bone bruise in his left knee Oct. 14 against the Atlanta Hawks.
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The Sixers are reportedly keeping Embiid out of back-to-backs this season and according to the 2023 MVP, he may never play in back-to-back games again. According to new reports Wednesday, the Sixers are currently under league investigation to see if this is a violation of the NBA’s player participation policy.
“There’s been no setbacks,” Sixers coach Nick Nurse said Tuesday. “He’s really active. He’s lost some weight. He’s out on the court. Just kind of sticking with our plan of making sure we’re getting into a really, really good place before we play him live.”
Given that they are under league investigation, the NBA may ultimately rule that the Sixers cannot sit Embiid in back-to-backs without being in violation of player participation policies.
A roster with the trio of Embiid, George and Tyrese Maxey is bound to be an offensive powerhouse. Unfortunately, it may also be one of the most injury-riddled rosters in the NBA this season.
James Parker is an NBA writer for Ball Exclusives, follow him on X @TheJames_Parker
