Paul George would miss at least two games with a left knee bone bruise originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
The 2-12 Sixers will be without Paul George for their weekend home games against the Nets and Clippers.
A team official said Thursday that George, who hyperextended his left knee in the The Sixers loss against the Grizzlieswill be out for the next two games and will be re-evaluated on Monday. An MRI on George’s left knee revealed no structural damage and he was diagnosed with a bone bruise, the official said.
George suffered the same injury during the preseason, which forced him to watch the Sixers’ 1-4 start from the sidelines. In eight outings since, he has averaged 28.9 minutes and posted 14.9 points, 5.4 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 2.3 steals per game. Except for a 29-point performance against the KnicksGeorge shot significantly worse than his career norm. He made just 38.3 percent of his field goals and 27.8 percent of his three-pointers.
Kyle Lowry (out with a right hip strain) was that other Sixer on the team’s injury report for Friday’s game against the 6-9 Nets. Tyrese Maxey is not supposed to be full yet. He was limited to 20 minutes in Memphis following a six-game absence with a right hamstring injury and had a rough return, scoring eight points on 3-for-13 shooting.
Guerschon Yabusele appears to be among the Sixers for an increase in playing time with George out. He filled in for the nine-time All-Star after his injury against the Grizzlies and played very well, tallying 17 points on 6-for-8 shooting, four rebounds and two assists.
Brooklyn’s Day’Ron Sharpe and Bojan Bogdanovic were out with long-term injuries. The Nets listed Nic Claxton (lower back strain) and Dorian Finney-Smith (left ankle sprain) as questionable. Cam Thomas (lower back strain) was probable.
Friday’s game will be the third between the Sixers and Nets in the NBA Cup contest. That certainly won’t be a source of motivation for the Sixers, who are 0-2 in Eastern Group A play and have one home win this season.
