We’re less than a week away from the Boston Celtics’ preseason opener against the Philadelphia 76ers. This game looked as if it’d be a nice test for a new-look Celtics team when the NBA schedule dropped back in August. Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, and Paul George all make the Sixers a formidable foe when they’re healthy.
According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, that won’t be the case come opening night.
George, who had arthroscopic knee surgery during the offseason, isn’t expected to be ready to go for Philly.
"I've been talking to people in Paul George's camp and I'm told that it is not expected that he will be suiting up for opening night,” Charania explained. “He is making significant progress (on his knee rehab) and a return to debut should be shortly into the regular season."
There had been optimism that both George and Embiid, who’s battled his own ailments over the past few months, were trending towards playing against the Cs as they’d begun 3-on-3 and 5-on-5 work at practice.
Head coach Nick Nurse was sure to downplay any expectation of a return from the 15-year veteran during his Thursday media availability.
“Yesterday was his first day live… and today was a short amount of 5-on-5,” Nurse said of George’s progress. “ We have to just keep waiting.”
The 35-year-old enters his second season as a member of the 76ers, hoping to improve from last year’s team-wide trainwreck.
After joining as a marquee free agent signing, George battled his fair share of injuries and only appeared in 74 games for Philly. Even when he was on the court, he didn’t come as advertised.
George averaged just 16.2 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 4.3 assists per game while shooting 43.0% from the field and 35.8% from beyond the arc in the 2024-25 campaign.
The Celtics hope to be at full strength (minus Jayson Tatum) for the season opener
The Celtics finished off their preseason schedule with a 110-108 win over the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday. With it being an exhibition all, the final score matters far less than walking away from the game healthy.
Fortunately for Boston, it doesn’t sound like Jaylen Brown’s early exit due to hamstring tightness is going to be a lingering issue.
“I think he’ll be okay,” Joe Mazzulla said of Brown’s hamstring tightness. “I talked to him after, he said he’ll be fine.”
Muscle injuries (or any injuries, really) are nothing to play with. The week off before the Celtics open against the Sixers should do Brown some good as he tries to work through the ailment.