Around midday on Tuesday, the Sixers added a common pair of names to their inactive list ahead of an NBA Cup meeting with Orlando. Joel Embiid (right knee soreness) and Paul George (right ankle sprain) went from questionable and probable to both out, prompting a series of questions about their well-being.
Speaking to reporters, Nick Nurse revealed that the Sixers were still waiting to get more information on George’s ankle issue, and that he had been out of the mix entirely in the two days since Philadelphia’s matinee loss to the Miami Heat.
“[George] reported soreness in the ankle after the game the other night,” Nurse said Tuesday. “Has not been in anything since then, and we’re just trying to keep following up on that and seeing where he is.”
When asked if Nurse expected George to miss time, Nurse left the possibility open: “I’m not there yet. We’re in the process of checking to see what exactly is wrong and what the extent of it is.”
Back to square one for George? Perhaps not that dramatic, although the messaging (or lack thereof) on this issue is a bit puzzling. George’s name did not come up during Monday’s media availability following a Sixers practice, and the initial listing of probable made the injury seem like a typical bump or bruise you might play through. The sudden change in designation is troubling, and given how many full practices it took for George to feel comfortable making his season debut, it’ll be worth keeping an eye on this one.
Joel Embiid’s troublesome knees are not exactly a new item, but frustration continues to build in Philadelphia as missed games are added to the pile. The big man is up to eight consecutive missed games as of Tuesday, with seven of those coming from a “right knee soreness” problem Embiid first reported on the morning of their NBA Cup game against the Boston Celtics. Imaging came back clean on the knee, according to a Sixers spokesman, but the team has been unable or unwilling to put him back on the floor up to this point.
Nurse has given positive indicators on Embiid in recent days, saying over the weekend that he was expecting Embiid back on the floor “very soon.” But after his designation upgrade on Tuesday, the Sixers pivoted back to another absence the day of Tuesday’s Magic meeting.
“We said yesterday he practiced fully, and he participated in most, well, I don’t know, parts of the shoot around today,” Nurse said. “But he’s just not quite there…I guess I would say there was a chance he would be ready. I think that’s what we have to do. It was trending toward he was going to play.”
In Embiid’s case, we appear to be running back through some of last season’s hits, albeit while dealing with a different, theoretically less problematic right knee. Day-to-day has now stretched into two weeks missed, despite Embiid being a constant (and full) participant on Philadelphia’s off days.
The young men left behind have had to pick up the slack, which has produced exciting moments but also existential dread about the cost of asking them to pick up the weight left behind by their elder statesmen. VJ Edgecombe has missed the last two games with calf tightness, an issue that NBA teams are looking at as more serious in light of a couple of Achilles tears in high-profile players who previously reported calf issues.
That group includes the Sixers, according to Nurse, who said it was a “fair assumption” that the relation between those injuries might factor in their caution.”
“From what they’re telling me, that’s part of being cautious,” Nurse said. “But they’re also telling me there’s nothing there on the imaging, and it’s a calf strain, and he’s also improving as well.”
15 games into his career, Edgecombe is logging over 37 minutes per game, third on the leaderboard for the entire NBA as a rookie. He is currently on track to play more minutes than most rookie players this century, in a league producing more soft-tissue injuries in the pace-and-space era. Edgecombe previously battled back spasms, and has been open about the fatigue factor as he acclimates to NBA life. Even teammates, like vet center Andre Drummond, have urged him to maximize his sleep and recovery days to try to keep up with the grind.
And no one has had to do more than Tyrese Maxey, the NBA’s undisputed leader in minutes at 40.4 per night heading into Tuesday’s game. Maxey has gotten off to a rip-roaring start, dragging the Sixers to a solid start despite their injuries elsewhere, but some have worried about whether the Sixers could be risking his long-term health to try to stay afloat until help arrives.
Nurse, who has historically been aligned with Morey under the “play your best guys as much as you can” banner, doesn’t sound like he’s preparing to change Maxey’s workload too much until more help arrives. And while Nurse did hint that help could arrive sooner rather than later, that deserves skeptical ears and eyes in light of, well, everything you see in the previous parts of this article.
“I do think that, you’re always hoping you’re going to get more additions here,” Nurse said. “Pretty surprised with where we are today, I’d be really surprised if we’re at the same place on Friday with who’s available. So you kind of got to take those things in the moment.”
“In the moments tonight, would I scale him back a lot? I think we’re always trying to get him a few minutes here and there a little bit more, and just see if it presents itself. He’s obviously vital to the team, especially right now with VJ, Kelly, PG, Joel, Bona, whoever else is out. I think it makes it tough here for a little bit, but I think it lends itself to cutting back a little bit more when a few of these guys filter back in.”
