CAMDEN, N.J. — The Philadelphia 76ers got back to work on Sunday as the focus for this group now turns to the season opener on Wednesday against the Boston Celtics. The preseason is over and the focus for coach Nick Nurse and Co. is the upcoming 82-game grind.
Joel Embiid, who played in the preseason finale on Friday, and Paul George, who didn’t play at all in the exhibition schedule, are working their way back from serious injuries and the Sixers are looking to make sure those players are ready to get back on the floor.
With Embiid back on the floor, and George continuing to progress, the Sixers announced that both players were full participants. Nurse then added that both players participated in live 5-on-5 as well as everything else.
“Yeah, all the way through,” Nurse stated on both players. “Pretty heavy day as far as, you know, this is kind of one of the last days of a real long, extensive session, and yeah. Both went start to finish.”
So, it is safe to assume that Embiid’s knee has responded well after playing on Friday. As for George, he still has some boxes to check, but the fact that he was a full participant is a huge step for Philadelphia as it prepares for the Celtics.
“He looked good,” Nurse added on George. “He’s moving good. He needs to, he needs to have some more conditioning and things, but he looked good. He’s really pushing himself to get in shape. He, defensively, looked really good. He was really moving and such a good guy reading situations, being able to get back with his length and close out, handle close out situations, and really knows what he’s doing on that end. He’s making progress.”
George is continuing to work his way back as this is now three practices in a row that he has done something. Him being a full participant on Sunday is another step in his progression.
“I think he’s made progress in each of the last three sessions,” Nurse finished. “Again, it’s the first practice that he’s been all the way through. So, last practice was the first time he’d ever played 5-on-5. So again, we’re happy to see him out there. We just keep making progressions.”
