76ers' Joel Embiid Out All Week, Paul George Out vs. Giannis, Dame, Bucks with Injury

Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid will miss the team's opener Wednesday against the Milwaukee Bucks and the remainder of their games this week.

The Sixers said Embiid "is responding well to his individualized plan and is expected to ramp up his return to play activities this week, including scrimmaging." He'll be re-evaluated over the weekend.

Paul George will be absent against Milwaukee as well because of the bone bruise he suffered in the preseason. His status for Friday's matchup with the Toronto Raptors is unclear.

Embiid didn't appear in any of the team's six preseason contests. After he was out for their first three games, the Sixers confirmed they were resting him to manage his surgically repaired left knee.

It's not as though Embiid would've benefited all that much from the preseason, but it would've been nice for him to log some minutes with George before opening night.

The 2022-23 MVP's health was a much larger concern.

A meniscus injury limited Embiid to 39 games in 2023-24. He returned ahead of the playoffs and also represented the United States at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. It looked as though the knee was no longer too troublesome, only for the issue to resurface with the regular season on the horizon.

Thanks to Tyrese Maxey's emergence as an All-Star guard and the signing of George, the Sixers can afford to ease some of the burden on Embiid. Philly's performance shouldn't significantly suffer on a given night, either, when the team decides to rest him.

But nobody doubts that the franchise's championship hopes rest firmly on the 7-footer's broad shoulders. Whether he can avoid the injury problems that have derailed the Sixers' past title quests is the single biggest storyline surrounding their season.