76ers’ Nick Nurse Reveals Update on Paul George’s Injury

Nick Nurse discussed Paul George's setback following the loss against the Atlanta Hawks.

Oct 11, 2024; Des Moines, Iowa, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Andre Drummond (5) screens Minnesota Timberwolves guard Donte DiVincenzo (0), as Philadelphia 76ers forward Paul George (8) drives to the basket at Wells Fargo Arena. Mandatory Credit: Reese Strickland-Imagn Images / Reese Strickland-Imagn Images

Paul George’s first preseason run with the Philadelphia 76ers could end prematurely.

As the nine-time All-Star competed against the Atlanta Hawks on Monday, George injured his knee in the second quarter. He went back to the locker room before halftime, and wouldn’t return.

By the time the Sixers reached the halfway point of the fourth quarter, they made the call to rule out George for the remainder of the night.

His absence was due to a left knee hyperextension. After the game, Sixers head coach Nick Nurse was hopeful everything would be fine. Paul George offered a positive quote on the situation, noting he wasn’t too concerned about the in-game setback.

On Tuesday, the Sixers returned to practice in Camden, New Jersey. While George was present, he expectedly didn’t practice. Nick Nurse got his injury status for Wednesday’s game against the Brooklyn Nets out of the way right away.

“He’s obviously not going to play tomorrow night, but he wasn’t going to play tomorrow night anyway,” Nurse told reporters. “A number of guys won’t play.”

The Sixers can’t be sure about a recovery timeline for George at the moment, but initial tests revealed George is not dealing with anything that’s leaving them too concerned.

“PG was here today and got looked at again. Everything checks out OK,” Nurse explained. “They are going to do some further imaging this afternoon to see if there’s anything else. He’s in good spirits. A number of the vets didn’t practice today, coming off of a late night. But we’ll see what happens with imaging.”

With just two preseason games left on the schedule before next week’s regular-season opener, the Sixers might benefit best from sidelining George until the games count for something.

On Sunday, the Sixers made a critical call on Joel Embiid, shutting the veteran center down for the entire preseason as part of his knee injury management plan. While Embiid didn’t injure himself during the Sixers’ scrimmages at training camp in the Bahamas, the team is taking a different approach to keep Embiid as healthy as possible.

They’ll have to be cautious with George as well.