76ers' Joel Embiid, Paul George ruled out vs. Rockets
Yesterday at 01:33 PM
Joel Embiid is still managing his left knee injury and Paul George is working his way through the second left knee hyperextension in as many months. The latest injury update from the Philadelphia 76ers said that the two stars will miss at least one more game.
The team announced that Embiid, Kyle Lowry (right hip strain) and Caleb Martin (low back soreness) did not participate in Tuesday’s practice and George was a partial participant. Lowry, along with Embiid and George, will be out for their next game on Wednesday against the Houston Rockets. Martin will be listed as questionable.
George was ruled out for two games after hyperextending his knee in a loss to the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday. The Sixers beat the Brooklyn Nets and then got smoked by George’s former club, the Los Angeles Clippers. Embiid and Lowry also missed those games. Nick Nurse said that George was close to returning to the game but that he wasn't 100 percent in the clear, so he was held out after injuring his knee early in the third quarter.
George did on-court work this past Saturday and did additional shooting work following Tuesday’s practice while wearing a knee brace. He said that he’s aiming to return "hopefully within the next week" and that, while the brace isn't very comfortable, he's doing "whatever it takesto kind ofreturnto the guys."
Following practice, Nurse said that the 76ers have to continue playing and practicing with an edge — something he stressed was urgent for the team — as the two veteran stars recover. He said that Embiid and Lowry took the lead on "making sure that guys understand what they’re doing and making sure they’re getting things ironed out" at practice.
Nick Nurse said Sixers' practice today was physical, edgy and competitive. Said they have to stay tough mentally as their stars work back into the lineup. pic.twitter.com/QJABRDKksk
— Sam DiGiovanni (@BySamDiGiovanni) November 26, 2024
"I’mnotbackingoffthat. You gotta go out and fight," the 76ers’ head coach said. "Cameintopractice today. It was edgy, it was physical, it was competitive.It’skind of how we’regonna be, right? I think you’ve got to set that tone and maintain that tone. Whenwe’re here to work, we’re here to work.That usually translates to the games at night."
Joel Embiid, Paul George working through knee injuries
With his absence on Wednesday, Embiid will miss 13 of the Sixers’ first 17 games of the season. He had his best performance of the season to date before dealing with knee swelling that put him back on the sidelines. The swelling is now subsiding, Nurse said on Sunday, but Embiid’s unavailability — and the lack of certainty that he will eventually be able to avoid multi-game absences — has cost Philly severely.
In his eight games this season, George has averaged just 14.9 points per game while shooting 38.3 percent from the field and 27.8 percent from deep. Although his assist percentage and steal percentage are career-best marks, his turnover percentage and true shooting percentage are on track to be career-worst marks.
At 3-13, the 76ers have the second-worst record in the NBA. Only the Washington Wizards, who have the youngest roster in the league by a wide margin, are below them. Philly’s net rating (-8.6) ranks 27th in the league and its offensive rating (106.8) ranks 28th. They have a long hole to dig out of and will not yet have their veteran stars at their disposal to help again.
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