The Philadelphia 76ers will be shorthanded to open up their season on Thursday vs the Milwaukee Bucks, as both Paul George and Joel Embiid ramp up from their respective injuries and are expected to miss the contest. It isn’t a particularly encouraging sign for a 76ers team whose main concern was always going to be the injury bug after they acquired George in free agency this offseason.
However, one person who isn’t concerned about Embiid’s long term health is head coach Nick Nurse, who recently shut down the notion that Embiid’s time playing for Team USA at the Olympics this summer may have set him back in his recovery from his knee ailment, per Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer.
“There’s been no setback,” said Nurse. “Again, he’s really active. He’s lost some weight. He’s out on the court just kind of sticking with our plan of making sure we’re getting him in a really, really good place before we get him playing live.”
Nurse was then asked specifically why Embiid will not be ready to play in the opener if there has been no setback to his injury status, per Kyle Neubeck of PHLY Sports.
“I don’t know what to say to you,” said Nurse. “He’s in practice, he’s looking good, he’s progressing. He’s not quite ready yet. He’ll be ready pretty soon.”
Nurse’s non answer will likely not do much to ease the concern of Philadelphia fans who have yet to see their franchise cornerstone make it through a full playoff run healthy during the squad’s current seven year postseason streak.
Will the 76ers make it through the season healthy?
Considering they can’t even make it to day one of the season in one piece, there isn’t a ton of reason to be optimistic that Paul George and Joel Embiid, two of the most injury prone players in the NBA both of whom are on the wrong side of 30, will be able to stay healthy throughout the course of this season.
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The 76ers will be banking heavily on the continued ascension of Tyrese Maxey, who looked great during the preseason and is hoping to capitalize off of what was a breakout campaign in 2023-24.
Still, this team will only go so far as Embiid can take it, and the fact that his injury situation is already a gigantic question mark is not a great sign.
The 76ers and Bucks are slated to tip off on Thursday at 7:30 PM ET.