Nick Nurse says the status of Joel Embiid and Paul George remains to be determined on opening night

CAMDEN, NJ – The Sixers' regular season opener is just two days away as the Milwaukee Bucks come to town on Wednesday for a high-profile, nationally televised game.

Tyrese Maxey, who had a brief injury scare in the team's preseason finale when he bruised his right thumb, is in full action. When asked how he felt after training on Monday, Maxey poetically gave a thumbs up.

As for his co-stars Joel Embiid and Paul George? Their status for Wednesday evening remains uncertain.

Asked about his optimism about her availability after training on Monday, Sixers head coach Nick Nurse declined to quantify his hopes.

“I don’t really have any level of optimism because they said we should have a good idea tomorrow,” Nurse said Monday. “I can only really decide after tomorrow’s training.”

Embiid did not participate in any preseason contests and still did not participate in matchups between Sixers players during training camp or the preseason. Nurse said Embiid attended all of the team's practice until scrimmages began, which appears to be his regular schedule so far.

The Sixers continue to insist that Embiid did not suffer an injury. They say they are being proactive in treating his left knee, which was injured for several months last season. Embiid is expected to focus more on “load management” than ever before in the 2024-25 season, with his main goal for the regular season being to get to the playoffs at full health.

MORE: Joel Embiid says he wants to scale back the offensive role

However, George suffered a bone bruise in his left knee in his second preseason competition. said the Sixers last Tuesday that the nine-time All-Star would be re-evaluated in about a week. George did not participate in Monday's practice, but did do individual drills after practice while reporters were present.

The status of another player for Wednesday night also hasn't been determined yet: rookie guard Jared McCain, whose frightening fall caused one last week Pulmonary contusion. There have been signs in recent days that McCain's condition has improved. Like Embiid, McCain participated in all drills down to scrimmage, which Nurse described as “physical.” McCain certainly appears to be moving in a positive direction.

Nurse said last week that he expected to know by Tuesday at the latest whether Embiid and George would be there or not. Stay tuned for updates tomorrow, when the Sixers are expected to hold their last official practice before the start of the regular season.

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