Okafor remains out with sore knee

Jahlil Okafor was held out of practice Tuesday because of his sore knee. The rookie center's status for Friday's preseason game against the Washington Wizards is unknown.

"It's just precautionary stuff," Sixers coach Brett Brown said. "Right now, we can't make any comment if he's going to play or not. But it seems to be getting better."

In addition to missing Monday's game, Okafor had a minutes restriction in the three preseason games he played in.

The third overall pick out of Duke rode an exercise bike at practice Tuesday at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine before working out in weight training. Then Okafor headed to St. Joseph's University for an aquatic workout.

"This is not an injury," said the 19-year-old, who hasn't experienced knee swelling. "It's just our coaching staff and all of our trainers going overboard, making sure that we are healthy.

"We have time to rest. So we are going to take advantage of that. This is the preseason. So that's what we are doing right now."

However, the knee soreness has cut into his player development.

Okafor was on the court for only 17 minutes, 2 seconds in the preseason opener against the Wizards. Then he played 20:26 vs. the Cleveland Cavaliers and 16:56 against the Brooklyn Nets.

"I think about finding ways to help him be the best that he can be," said Brown, who wants to play Okafor 32 minutes a game. "That's going to be the challenge. And it's a little bit even more of a challenge because he's not with me or he's not playing the minutes or being able to practice right now."

Notable. Nerlens Noel (lower back and left knee contusions) practiced on Tuesday and is expected to play on Friday after missing the last two games. Reserve point guard Pierre Jackson (groin) will make his preseason debut against the Wizards.