Joel Embiid and Paul George will sit out the Philadelphia 76ers’ game on Saturday against the Memphis Grizzlies. It was previously reported that Embiid could return next Saturday without the first four games of the regular season and the entire preseason, but the 76ers heavyweight showed in Friday’s practice that he will sit out Saturday. .
That makes Embiid’s debut the earliest possible until Monday, which is a road game against the Phoenix Suns.
Embiid has been listed as out with “left knee injury monitoring” through the 76ers’ first four games: a 124-109 loss to the Milwaukee Dollars, a 115-107 loss to the Toronto Raptors, a 118-114 in overtime over the Indiana Pacers and a 105-95 loss to the Detroit Pistons. On Friday he spoke to the media and applauded again for the grievance who doesn’t want to play.
George, who has been dealing with a bone bruise in his left knee during the preseason, will be sidelined this weekend.
The bright side is that both Embiid and George contributed fully in practice on Friday, meaning a return for both could be around the corner. With Saturday’s game ruled out as an option for Embiid, that means he could likely return during Philadelphia’s final road trip, which includes games against the Suns, Los Angeles Clippers and Los Angeles Lakers.
The NBA fined Philadelphia on Tuesday by statements from the community that had been inconsistent with Embiid’s physical situation.
Without Embiid and George, the Sixers have scored 106.5 possessions this season with a net rating of -7.2, any of which are classified as Negative. 26 within the league. They’ve shot a league-worst 27.7% from 3-point range and haven’t begun to record 20 assists in a game. (Each alternative workforce is averaging no less than 20 assists.)
In an attempt to keep Embiid and George healthy for the postseason, Philadelphia has committed to a cautious approach this season. “We’re going to be smart about it,” Morey told ESPN’s Tim Bontemps the day before. “Part of being smart about it is that both Paul and Joel probably won’t play many consecutive games, if any.”
Added Embiid: “If I had to guess, I’d probably never play back-to-back games for the rest of my career.”
ESPN’s Shams Charania mentioned on “SportsCenter” that Embiid’s lengthy acceleration procedure is “part of what has been described to me as the new normal for Joel Embiid. That will include periodic time off at different points during the season. That will include checkups. routine on his knee throughout the season.
