The Sixers made several midday injury status changes Tuesday before their meeting with the Magic.
The team downgraded Joel Embiid (right knee injury management) and Paul George (right ankle sprain) to out. Tyrese Maxey was upgraded from probable with a right shoulder sprain to available.
Embiid was present after the Sixers’ morning shootaround, wearing a blue practice jersey and taking free throws and jumpers. He’d been listed as questionable on Monday night.
The Orlando game will be Embiid’s eight consecutive absence. Sixers head coach Nick Nurse said Monday that Embiid is “still day-to-day.”
“Just waiting for doctors to clear him,” Nurse said.
George had first been listed as probable. He appeared in his third game of the season Sunday in the Sixers’ defeat to the Heat, logging 20 minutes and posting 10 points on 3-for-10 shooting, five assists, two rebounds, a steal and a block. The most George has played since returning from offseason arthroscopic surgery on his left knee is 25 minutes last Thursday in an overtime win over the Bucks.
“I think we’ve just got to continue to grow his time on the floor,” Nurse said Monday. “The minutes restriction thing has to grow. Hopefully, it keeps heading in the right direction. … I think he’s moving good and the opportunity to get him going and get him some shots is going to be important. … I think conditioning and more minutes and all that stuff just takes a bit of time.”
On top of Embiid and George, the Sixers won’t have VJ Edgecombe (left calf tightness), Kelly Oubre Jr. (left knee LCL sprain) and Adem Bona (right ankle sprain) vs. the Magic.