Joel Embiid and Paul George still aren’t ready to play for the Philadelphia 76ers this season, and Nick Nurse doesn’t really want to talk about it.
The NBA, however, fined the team $100,000 for public statements they made about Embiid’s health on Tuesday afternoon. The punishment was handed down after a team investigation into Embiid’s status was launched after he missed their season opener earlier this month. the research, said the linkconfirmed that Embiid was unable to play in that game.
The 76ers head coach largely shut down questions about the health of the two stars on Tuesday after ruling them both out for Wednesday’s matchup with the Detroit Pistons. Both Embiid and George are dealing with knee injuries, and they have yet to take the court this season.
While both players participated in portions of practice on Tuesday, Nurse ruled both of them out for Wednesday’s game at the Wells Fargo Center. As for when they will be able to make their season debuts, however, Nurse did not explain.
“We want these kids to play and we want them to be healthy and we want them to play great and we want them to play great all season,” Nurse said. “So my main focus is, I have to do the job that I have to do. I have to try to get this team to play as well as possible tomorrow night. That takes a lot of my focus and whatever… I’m just trying to focus on my job at hand.”
Embiid has been held out for the season due to what the 76ers are calling a left knee management. He played in just 39 games last season due to knee injuries, but he returned in time for the playoffs and he played with Team USA on their gold medal run at the Paris Olympics this summer.
Embiid also said he lost more than 25 pounds this past offseason to stay healthy and take stress off his knees. It is unclear specifically what is holding him back now with his knee. Embiid also received a technical foul on Monday for waving a towel near his bench in the final moments of their overtime win against the Indiana Pacers on Sunday.
The league opened an investigation into the handling of the equipment of his injury, also, although the investigation determined that the 76ers did not violate player participation policy. The team continued to make statements that were “inconsistent” with Embiid’s health, the NBA said, which led to the fine.
George, who signed a four-year, $212 million deal to join the 76ers this past offseason, was dealing with a bone bruise in his knee after he fell in a preseason game. He did not suffer any structural damage to his knee, but it is unclear when he will be able to take the court.
The 76ers, who hold a 1-2 record, will host the Pistons on Wednesday and then the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday. They will then go out on a three-game west coast road trip next week.
Based on Nurse’s latest comments, it’s still anyone’s guess when Embiid and George will be ready to play for the 76ers.
