Joel Embiid averaged 16.8 minutes during Team USA’s gold medal-winning run at the Paris Olympics and looked like he was out of his injury slump. Only for him to return and miss all preseason games for the Philadelphia 76ers because of left knee injury management. This has raised some eyebrows, but when the media asked his coach Nick Nurse about the injury, the boss responded, “No, no, there have been no more setbacks.” However, the announcement the team made would have people begging to differ!

The Sixers had ruled out Joel Embiid from all the games for the rest of the week. The statement via Keith Pompey, read, “Embiid is responding well to his individualized plan and is expected to ramp up his return to play activities this week, including scrimmaging,” stating that the Sixers star has been on the path of recovery and could return to the court soon.

It continued, that Joel Embiid “will not play in games this week and will be re-evaluated this weekend.” This means he’ll miss not only the opening game against the Bucks but also Friday’s trip to Toronto and likely the Sunday game against the Pacers too!

Another big name will miss the opening game on Wednesday: Paul George. The new Sixers signing suffered a hyperextension in his left knee in the preseason game against the Atlanta Hawks, causing a major scare. It was news that no Sixers fan would’ve wanted to hear when they were so close to their opening game. But, let’s see how these two injuries will impact Philly’s hunt for the playoffs.

How will Joel Embiid’s absence hurt the Sixers?

The expectations for Joel Embiid and the Sixers are higher than ever with the offseason (3-3) they’ve had. They landed Paul George as a free agent and chalked in their star duo of Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid with contract extensions. Now, with the news of Embiid and his new scoring partner George struggling with injuries, fans are left worried. However, something that gave everyone a sigh of relief was a clip posted by Noah Levick on social media that had Rico Hines running the star duo through two-man drills.

All this also raises another question- Will Embiid’s load management affect the team’s playoff aspirations? Keith Pompey had asked Nick Nurse, who responded with, “Not yet, no” giving an impression that the Sixers boss isn’t too worried about this setback in the long term. However, only time will tell and although they want to make a deep run, Philly will have to keep Embiid fit at all costs.

The Process has been the central piece even though he played only 39 games in the regular season and widely missed out on defending his MVP title. The hooper averaged a massive 34.7 points, 11 rebounds, and 5.6 assists per game. His absence on the court will always be a disadvantage. Also, worth noting is the unavailability of Paul George as well, who was impressive during the preseason.