After a tough loss against the revamped New York Knicks in Joel Embiid’s season debut Tuesday, the Sixers will turn around and play the undefeated Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday.
Man, who did the Sixers piss off at the league office?
Oh, right. Everyone.
If you’re looking for a positive, head coach Nick Nurse did not rule out the possibility of Embiid and/or Paul George suiting up against the Cavs. Nurse said both players will be evaluated in the morning to see how they feel.
George, who had his best game as a Sixer Tuesday with a game-high 29 points, is still on a minutes restriction of sorts. He played 32 minutes against the Knicks. He’s unsure how his body will respond, but he didn’t close the door on playing against Cleveland.
“Hopefully I feel really good in the morning and kind of just see where it goes from there,” George said.
It was expected for Embiid to have plenty of rust after not playing in the first nine games of the season. The star big man said that after the first five minutes of the game he started to feel better, though he’s still building up to a point where he can trust his knee.
When asked about the possibility he could play Wednesday, Embiid gave the most Embiid answer possible.
“I want to [play],” he said, “but that’s up to [the medical staff]. I know I said I would never play back-to-backs, but I’m a troll so I’m sure at some point I’ll play in one. But I feel good. I feel good right now. We’ll see, but it’s up to them.”
When Embiid gave that quote to Tim Bontemps of ESPN that he’ll “probably never play back-to-backs” again, the NBA world lost its collective mind. It would be the most Embiid and Sixers thing ever if he plays both games of the first possible back-to-back — though consider this reporter skeptical.
The Sixers are now 2-8 with some tough games on deck. Tyrese Maxey, who Nurse said pregame is doing light on-court activity, remains out with a hamstring strain. Both Embiid and George need to play to round into form, but without costing them long-term health this season.
It’s not time to panic yet, but it’s getting late early.
