The Philadelphia 76ers are following through on their plan.
Joel Embiid and Paul George are both listed as out for Wednesday’s game against the Cleveland Cavaliers due to “left knee injury management.”
Their status confirms a plan by president of basketball operations Daryl Morey, who said in the offseason that “Paul and Joel probably not play many back to backs, if any.” George and Embiid both played in Tuesday’s loss to the New York Knicks.
The 76ers will also be without All-Star guard Tyrese Maxey, who’s sidelined for multiple weeks with a hamstring injury. The Cavaliers are looking to improve on a 12-0 start to the season.
The 76ers fell to 2-8 with Tuesday’s loss to the Knicks, continuing to raise questions about their playoff viability just 10 games into the season. They’re in 14 place out of 15 Eastern Conference teams, a game ahead of the 2-10 Toronto Raptors.
Embiid is sitting a game after making his season debut. He missed the first six games of the season for what the team described as “left knee management.” He then missed Games 7-9 due to an NBA suspension for shoving a reporter.
George missed the first give games of the season after sustaining a bone bruise in his knee in the preseason. He’s played in the five 76ers game since and thrived in Tuesday’s game against the Knicks with 29 points, 10 rebounds, three assists and three steals. It was his best game since joining the 76ers, and he showed no signs of any issues with his once-injured knee.
Embiid was sluggish in his first live basketball action since playing in the Summer Olympics and clearly not yet in game shape. It’s not clear if he’s dealing directly with any lingering issues on his left knee that required surgery and sidelined him for a significant portion of last season.
This story will be updated.
