76ers To Be Without Multiple Stars When Philadelphia Plays Raptors

The Philadelphia 76ers will be without Joel Embiid and Paul George when they take on the Toronto Raptors on Friday

Dec 22, 2023; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid (21) moves against Toronto Raptors center Jakob Poeltl (19) in the second quarter at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Ross-Imagn Images / Kyle Ross-Imagn Images

Joel Embiid and Paul George will both be sidelined against the Toronto Raptors later this week.

The two All-Stars have been ruled out for the first week of the season by the Philadelphia 76ers, the team announced Tuesday. Both players will not be in the lineup when Philadelphia plays in Toronto on Friday.

It's a fortunate break for Toronto who will likely be down a few of its rotation players against the 76ers as well. RJ Barrett is day-to-day with an AC joint injury but has yet to be cleared for contact and seems unlikely to play in Toronto's first couple of games. Ja'Kobe Walter, Bruce Brown, and potentially Kelly Olynyk are expected to miss at least the first week of the season.

Toronto opens the season with its toughest stretch of the year and is likely to struggle out of the gate. It's possible Philadelphia's slow ramp up for Embiid and George allows the Raptors to sneak away with one early season victory against one of the league's top teams this year.

The expectation is Embiid will be sidelined to start the year and played sparingly as the 76ers look to keep him healthy for the playoffs. George will be on a similar schedule this season as he works his way back from a knee injury he suffered in the preseason.

If Embiid and George do miss significant time this season, it's possible Philadelphia falls into the play-in picture this year as one of the seven or eight seeds in the conference.