Joel Embiid and Paul George still have ‘boxes to check’ before Sixers can clear them to play
“I think everybody in any situation would want their guys out there every day,” Sixers head coach Nick Nurse said.
The 76ers’ success this season will depend a lot on the health and level of play of Joel Embiid and Paul George.
But with less than two weeks before the Oct. 22 opener at the Boston Celtics, there has been no indication of when the duo will be cleared to play as they recover from left knee injuries.
The Sixers said Embiid has increased his activity, including five-on-five scrimmaging. They noted that the 2023 MVP is being evaluated daily and is progressing, but there still are boxes to be checked.
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On Wednesday, the Sixers said George still was in the individual workout phase. They said he’ll be integrated into team workouts soon. Then on Thursday, the nine-time All-Star participated in post-practice one-on-one drills against Tyrese Maxey, Kelly Oubre Jr., and Justin Edwards while Embiid watched.
“Yeah, he’s progressing,” coach Nick Nurse said of George after practice. “They’re still working out some things. He did do some stuff early in practice as well today for the first time. So that’s also progression. So we’ll just keep on going.”
Asked if the early practice drills involved five-on-five scrimmaging, Nurse responded that it was “five-on-zero stuff.”
“It’s been the first time for that,” he said. “So there’ll be boxes to check to … keep it going.”
The Sixers will play their third exhibition game on Friday against the Orlando Magic at Xfinity Mobile Arena (7 p.m., NBCSP). Their fourth and final preseason game will be at home against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Oct. 17.
So what’s George’s status for the rest of the preseason? Will he miss both of the remaining exhibition games?
“I wouldn’t say yes or no to any of that,” Nurse said. “I just don’t know. I think this [Thursday] was a step in the right direction, and we’ll see how fast it comes along.”
The Sixers have said they don’t know when Embiid will return. The seven-time All-Star has said he doesn’t want to rush back.
“I just think he’s got to get to a point where they’re happy with the amount of load he can take and the recovery part as well on top of it, and keep progressing that way,” Nurse said. “I’m sure there’s strength issues and all that kind of stuff just to make sure that it’s responding to everything well. He did do five-on-five. … So, again, progressing.”
Like George, Embiid participated in five-on-zero drills on Thursday. Nurse also said the 7-foot-2 center practiced with the team last week in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
“Again, I think it’s progressing pretty good,” Nurse said, “and he’s been in a lot of live action over the last seven to 10 days.”
Last season, the Big Three of Embiid, George, and Maxey were on the court together for a combined 15 games.
Embiid, 31, played just 19 games before ultimately undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his left knee on April 9. The surgery followed the Sixers’ determination on Feb. 28 that Embiid was medically unable to play and would remain sidelined for the remainder of the season to focus on treatment and rehabilitation.
George underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left knee on July 14.
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The surgery came after George suffered the injury during a workout a few days earlier. Unfortunately for the 6-foot-8 forward, injuries have been the norm during his short stint with the Sixers.
George, now 35, was ruled out for the remainder of last season on March 17, the day he received injections in the left adductor muscle in his groin and his left knee.
Each player is coming off one of his worst seasons. The Sixers can only hope both of them will return to their elite levels of play.
This preseason would have been a great time to integrate them with new players to build on-court chemistry.
“I think everybody in any situation would want their guys out there every day,” Nurse said. “That’s how you’re going to, all the time, continue to be able to add and build and things like that. I think that we’ve spent a lot of time and made a lot of progress offensively, with and without them, and that’s what we’re trying to do.
“We’re just trying to be able to kind of merge those things whenever we can, and whenever we can’t, we’ve got to do the other things we’ve been working on. So we’ll just keep doing that. I mean, I think it’s obvious.”