The Philadelphia 76ers finally got to see their trio of Joel Embiid, Paul George and Tyrese Maxey on the court together for the first time this season on Wednesday. It lasted for roughly one half.
George exited the Sixers’ game against the Memphis Grizzlies, a 117-111 loss, with a left knee hyperextension and did not return, per ESPN’s Shams Charania. The knee is the same knee that caused George to miss the first five games of the season due to a bone bruise from a previous hyperextension.
The injury appeared to occur when George landed awkwardly after jumping to defend Grizzlies wing Desmond Bane in the third quarter.
Here’s the play/replays of Sixers’ Paul George experiencing some sort of pain in his left leg once he lands.
Hard to see exactly what happened but PG walked off to the locker room. pic.twitter.com/LmzeeDYpFg
— Erin Grugan (@eringrugan) November 21, 2024
Not long after George was reported to be ruled out, Embiid knocked knees with Grizzlies big man Jaren Jackson Jr. and visibly limped toward the bench. Fortunately, he remained in the game.
George aggravating or re-injuring his knee would only be the latest blow to a miserable season for the Sixers, who entered Wednesday tied for last in the Eastern Conference with a record of 2-11.
Philadelphia was supposed to be in the upper echelon of East contenders this season after swinging a trade for George, but injuries have so far wreaked havoc upon their roster. Both Embiid and George were out at the start of the season — Embiid to manage a knee ailment and George with the bone bruise.
Then Embiid earned himself a suspension for shoving a columnist for writing something about his injury management he believed was over the line. Then Maxey went down with a right hamstring injury.
All three finally got back into the court on Wednesday, and the result was another loss and more pain.