The latest on Paul George’s left knee hyperextension suffered during the Sixers’ preseason win over the Hawks Wednesday.
Update, October 15, 1:30 pm ET
Philadelphia 76ers head coach Nick Nurse spoke to reporters at practice on Tuesday with an update on Paul George. Nurse said “everything checked out OK” for George after he hyperextended his left knee during the Sixers’ preseason matchup with the Atlanta Hawks on Monday night. Nurse added that George will have more imaging done and can’t comment on timetables until those are done.
Nick Nurse said Paul George was here today and got examined. Said “everything checked out OK” but he’s getting more imaging done. Said he was in good spirits.
— Paul Hudrick (@PaulHudrick) October 15, 2024
Nurse added that George won’t play tomorrow, but he was set to get the game off anyway. Said he can’t comment on any timetables until imaging is done.
— Paul Hudrick (@PaulHudrick) October 15, 2024
Oct. 15, 9:54 a.m. ET
Mizell spoke with George postgame. It seems the the star wing is more disappointed to miss preseason time to gel with this new teammates than worried about any type of long-term injury:
“Obviously, I’m in a new organization. I’m trying to build,” George said. “We’ve got so much with growing pains, and [only] so much time to learn and try to figure each other out. … So it [stinks]. It’s unfortunate.
“But, again, I’m not too concerned going forward of what this injury is. It’ll just be a little time.”
The Sixers practice at 12:45 p.m. on Tuesday. We’ll keep you posted with any new developments.
October 14:
This is not the type of mid-game update Sixers fans were looking for.
Paul George played just 12 minutes in the first half of the team’s preseason game in Atlanta vs. the Hawks. The team ruled him out at halftime, per Gina Mizell of The Inquirer.
Sixers say Paul George won’t play in the second half. I don’t see him on the bench. Caleb Martin is out there with the rest of tonight’s starters.
— Gina Mizell (@ginamizell) October 15, 2024
You don’t want to speculate without any further update, but there was a play in the second quarter where George appeared to tweak his leg.
COMPLETE speculation here but…
This didn’t look comfortable for Paul George. Hopefully him sitting the second half is unrelated. https://t.co/Ode0cpYQNK pic.twitter.com/fakgqJUstA
— Erin Grugan (@eringrugan) October 15, 2024
George came out after this play and sat the rest of the first half.
The nine-time All-Star has looked sharp in his limited preseason action. He dropped 23 points in 26 minutes in his Sixers preseason debut last Friday against the Timberwolves. He was 3-of-5 for eight points before exiting the contest Monday.
While George is an ideal on-court fit with the Sixers, he turned 34 in May. He played 74 games with the Clippers last season, but failed to reach 60 games in any of his previous four seasons in L.A. Age and durability were two concerns raised when the Sixers gave George a four-year max deal.
This is clearly the last thing the Sixers need. The team put out an update Sunday announcing that Joel Embiid would miss the entire preseason. In a feature by ESPN’s Tim Bontemps that was published Monday, Embiid said he will “probably never play back-to-backs” again. In the same story, Daryl Morey said the team will treat George similarly.
In the case of the team’s stars, you hope it’s all precautionary.
Update: 9:38 p.m. ET
Sixers say Paul George’s injury is a left knee hyperextension.
— Gina Mizell (@ginamizell) October 15, 2024
Update: 10:35 p.m. ET
Chatted with Paul George in the postgame locker room. He had a sleeve on the knee but was walking and said he is “not too concerned” about the prognosis. Will get treatment on it tonight and proceed from there. More coming later.
— Gina Mizell (@ginamizell) October 15, 2024