Sixers’ Joel Embiid, Paul George not ruled out for Wednesday vs. Cavs

After a heavy defeat against the renewed ones New York Knicks in Joel Embiid’s season debut on Tuesday, the Sixers will turn around and play the undefeated Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday.

Man, who pissed off the Sixers in the league office?

Oh, right. All together.

If you’re looking for a positive, head coach Nick Nurse didn’t rule out the possibility of Embiid and/or Paul George filing charges against the Cavs. Nurse said both players will be evaluated in the morning to see how they are doing.

George, who had his best game as a Sixer Tuesday with a game-high 29 points, is still on a minutes restriction of sorts. He played 32 minutes against the Knicks. He’s unsure how his body will react, but he didn’t close the door when he played against Cleveland.

“Hopefully I’ll feel really good in the morning and just see where it goes from there,” George said.

Embiid was expected to have plenty of rust after not playing in the first nine games of the season. The big star said that after the first five minutes of the match, he started to feel better, although he is still building up to a point where he can trust his knee.

When asked about the possibility of playing Wednesday, Embiid gave the most Embiid answer possible.

“I want to (play),” he said, “but it’s up to (the medical staff). I know I said I’d never play back-to-backs, but I’m a troll, so I I’m sure I’ll play in one at some point. I’m fine right now, but it’s up to them.”

When Embiid gave the quote to ESPN’s Tim Bontemps that he will “probably never play back-to-backs” again, the NBA world lost its collective mind. It would be the most Embiid and Sixers thing ever if he plays both games in the first possible back-to-back — even if you consider this reporter skeptical.

The Sixers are now 2-8 with some tough games on the deck. Tyrese Maxey, who the nurse said pregame is doing light activity on the field, remains out with a hamstring strain. Both Embiid and George must play to round out fitness, but without costing them long-term health this season.

It’s not time to panic yet, but it will be late early.

Update: Both Joel Embiid and Paul George are out for tonight’s game against Cleveland.

This news clearly hurts the Sixers’ chances of handing the Cavaliers their first loss of the season. We’ll see if the league front office is comfortable with this latest bit of roster manipulation from Philadelphia.