The Sixers on Thursday formally ruled out Paul George for their second and third games of the season.
The nine-time All-Star wing has been out since suffering a left knee bone bruise on Oct. 14 against the Hawks in his second preseason game with the Sixers.
George “continues progressing well in his recovery” from that injury, a Sixers official said. “He will not play during the team’s two-game road trip and an update on his availability is expected early next week.”
The Sixers started their 2024-25 season with a shorthanded loss Wednesday in Philadelphia to the Bucks. They’ll visit the Raptors on Friday night and the Pacers on Sunday afternoon. The team’s next home game will be next Wednesday vs. the Pistons.
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Joel Embiid (left knee injury management) remains sidelined. The Sixers also listed Caleb Martin as probable against Toronto because of a right calf contusion.
According to Sixers head coach Nick Nurse, George and Embiid were both “in most of the action” at practice Thursday, which included some live drills.
“I think they’re improving and making strides,” Nurse said.
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The 0-1 Raptors, who got blown out by the Cavs on Wednesday, listed Bruce Brown, Kelly Olynyk and Ja’Kobe Walter as out. They designated RJ Barrett (right shoulder AC joint sprain) and Immanuel Quickley (right pelvic contusion) as doubtful.
On paper, the Sixers have a nice opportunity to notch a first win Friday.
“We had a good, lengthy film session,” Nurse said. “We’re kind of in the stage of learning what’s going on. Before the game, I wasn’t really sure what we had. You can’t really tell a lot from preseason. … And then you went against a team that’s very well-prepared, had a lot of time to prepare for us, is very experienced. And we didn’t play very well, right?
“So again, we talked about some execution things, we talked about some of the blown coverages we had and how we can smooth those over. And we talked about how, when there are breakdowns, we’ve got to fire out and start helping each other.”
