Philadelphia 76ers stars Joel Embiid and Paul George have officially been ruled out of Wednesday night’s season-opener against the Milwaukee Bucks, Philadelphia announced Tuesday.
Embiid, the league’s former MVP, has progressed well and is ramping up toward a return after missing much of the preseason with left knee maintenance.
George will be reevaluated next week. The 34-year-old sustained a left knee bone bruise last Monday in a preseason game against the Atlanta Hawks, and returned with a clean MRI last Tuesday.
Embiid, 30, was limited to 39 games last season due to injuries, while George had his healthiest season in years, playing in 74 contests before joining the Sixers in free agency. The Sixers went 47-35 last season before losing in the first round to the New York Knicks.
Embiid missing the first week of the season is naturally concerning, but it represents a turning point in his career. The decision to sit out the opening week of the season shows just how much Embiid is prioritizing the pursuit of a championship over chasing the MVP.
Embiid said he plans to sit out back-to-backs this season, which means he is on track to fall short of the 65-game awards qualification now that he is missing the first week of the season.“The focus is on whatever it takes to get to [the playoffs] and be healthy,” he said at media day. — Jared Weiss, NBA writer
Without Embiid, Philadelphia has depth issues
With former Sixers coach Doc Rivers and the Bucks coming to town, Philadelphia is at a significant size disadvantage to open the season. Philadelphia will likely start Andre Drummond and use Guerschon Yabusele as a backup big, testing just how effective their center depth will be this year.
Expect the Sixers to push the pace with Embiid out and Maxey dominating the offensive usage, particularly against a Bucks team that has the 19th ranked defense in the league last season and ranked 21st this preseason. — Weiss
George’s absence allows for new-look rotations
Though George’s absence is significant, their wing depth is the team’s greatest strength. In the final two preseason games, coach Nick Nurse started Eric Gordon, Kelly Oubre Jr. and KJ Martin on the wings alongside All-Star point guard Tyrese Maxey and Drummond.
Nurse also has new signing Caleb Martin, young 3-and-D wing Ricky Council IV and rookie Jared McCain — whose status is currently undetermined after suffering a pulmonary contusion last week — to work into the rotation alongside Maxey, Kyle Lowry and Reggie Jackson.
Philadelphia tied for the fifth-best record in the East last season and was only three games behind New York for the second seed, despite going 16-27 in the 43 games Embiid missed. Though they won consistently when he was out there, he missed February and March, leaving the team little time heading into the playoffs to get back into rhythm.
It remains to be seen whether George’s knee hyperextension will require load management over the course of the season, but 2023-24 was the first year he played more than 60 games since he was on the Thunder.
The primary goal with George, like Embiid, is to be healthy for the playoff run. — Weiss
Required reading
(Photo: Timothy A. Clary / AFP via Getty Images)
