The Philadelphia 76ers announced that star center Joel Embiid will miss Wednesday’s game against the Houston Rockets as he continues “left knee management.” Embiid has played in just four games so far this season for the 3-13 76ers, and Wednesday’s matchup will be his third missed game in a row after he played in three consecutive games.
Paul George remains sidelined as well. George hyperextended his left knee for the second time in a month last week and has not played since Nov. 20 against the Grizzlies. George “partially participated in practice” this week, the team said, but he will miss his ninth game of the season on Wednesday.
George, a six-time All-Star, has struggled by his standards when he has been on the court so far. In his first season in Philly, George is averaging 14.9 points per game and shooting just 38.3% from the floor and 27.8% from 3-point range.
Prior to the start of the season, Embiid mentioned that he didn’t see himself playing in both games of back-to-backs for the rest of his career, as he tries to prioritize being healthy for the playoffs. Embiid will miss 13th game of the season on Wednesday, and the team still has 13 back-to-backs on its regular-season schedule.
The 76ers have one of the worst records in the NBA after a turbulent five weeks to begin the 2024-25 season. But seven of their next 12 matchups are against teams with losing records, including two meetings with the Hornets, as well as meetings with the Jazz, Trail Blazers and Spurs.
It won’t be a cakewalk to beat all those teams, especially if Embiid and or George keep missing time, but the 76ers will need to use the easier December schedule to start racking up some wins and moving up in the weak Eastern Conference.