Paul George on Joel Embiid: 'I don't think there's pressure for him to do anything extra'

George knows the pressure Embiid is under. He was a franchise player for the Indiana Pacers and Oklahoma City Thunder, and then a co-franchisee with the LA Clippers alongside Kawhi Leonard. That weight of being the man feels like you're wearing a burlap jersey and concrete Nikes. "I think it's no pressure for him," George said. "He is the piece. He is The Process. I think he just finds his way, as he should. We're here to kind of keep things going afloat until he gets back to himself. But I don't think there's pressure for him to do anything extra. He'll find his rhythm as the games go on, as we learn how to play off of him and play around him. I've seen it in practice, so I know he's not too far off."

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Sirius XM NBA SiriusXMNBA The Starting Lineup with & is LIVE! Steph's Big Night in Klay's Return Erik Spoelstra's Costly Mistake Joel Embiid's Season Debut at 8:30am ET Listen Live: sxm.app.link/nbaradiolive Call the Show: 855-NBA-JUMP (855-622-5867) pic.x.com/M2crTt5ziW – 7:02 AM Noah Levick NoahLevick Updated Sixers-Knicks observations, including Joel Embiid on his return nbcsportsphiladelphia.com/nba/philadelph... – 6:49 AM Sam Vecenie Sam_Vecenie Did a two-hour stream last night breaking down tape on a bunch of stuff. -Cooper Flagg's 26/12 vs. Kentucky. This also includes THOUGHTS on Duke's offense. -Joel Embiid's debut -Franz Wagner's recent run -Wemby's process vs. results youtube.com/live/M643HO2Ls... pic.x.com/SCNGqky8KS – 6:07 AM StatMuse statmuse Day 1 of the NBA Cup: — Steph 37/6/9 clutch win — Tyler Herro 40-piece — Heat lose on Spoelstra tech — Hawks upset the Celtics without Trae — Jalen Johnson triple-double — Josh Hart triple-double — Franz 32/8/5 game — Knicks spoil Embiid return — Blazers upset Wolves pic.x.com/7ZQDJBEJS6 – 12:51 AM Sam Vecenie Sam_Vecenie Okay, Post Game Theory is coming in 5-10 minutes. Here's the rundown: -Cooper's 26/12 vs. Kentucky -Joel Embiid's debut -Franz Wagner's heater recently -Wemby's game last night and process vs. results youtube.com/live/M643HO2Ls... pic.x.com/VEZxj9KF0l – 12:41 AM Sam Vecenie Sam_Vecenie Post Game Theory is happening tonight at some point. Just finishing pulling Cooper Flagg stuff now. Plan of action: -Cooper's 26/12 vs. Kentucky -Joel Embiid's debut -Franz Wagner's heater recently -Wemby's game last night and process vs. results – 12:01 AM David Aldridge davidaldridgedc Joel Embiid said he wants to play Wednesday against the undefeated Cavaliers, in the second game of a back-to-back. He and Paul George will first be evaluated by the team's medical staff Wednesday morning. "It's not my decision," Embiid said. "If I can, I'll be out there." – 11:16 PM Austin Krell NBAKrell Joel Embiid indicated that he wants to play in tomorrow's game vs Cleveland and that he feels good, but that the decision is ultimately up to the team. – 11:11 PM Ball Don't Lie Balldontlie Joel Embiid's first game of the season: 13 points 2-11 FG 1-5 3PT -7 +/- pic.x.com/4aXylcBkQ0 – 11:06 PM Noah Levick NoahLevick Initial observations after Joel Embiid's rusty return, Sixers' loss to Knicks nbcsportsphiladelphia.com/nba/philadelph... – 10:05 PM Austin Krell NBAKrell Knicks 111, Sixers 99 Rough night for Joel Embiid in his debut. The defense was up to task, the offense not so much. The Sixers are 2-8 onpattison.com/news/2024/nov/... – 10:04 PM Law Murray LawMurrayTheNU Joel Embiid returning is a step, not a completion Got to start somewhere And he is starting with 2/11 FGs, 1/5 3s, only 3 rebounds in 26 minutes – 10:04 PM Adam Aaronson SixersAdam Everything I saw during Sixers-Knicks, including extensive thoughts on how Joel Embiid looked, Paul George's best game as a Sixer by far, Jared McCain's continued emergence and — perhaps most importantly — the Sixers' inability to avoid offensive lulls: phillyvoice.com/sixers-vs-knic... – 10:03 PM Kyle Neubeck KyleNeubeck Some good defensive moments in this one, but hard to overcome that level of rust from Embiid on offense and a 37 percent from the field night for the team. Prepare for pain in the back-to-back tomorrow! THE RECAP allphly.com/joel-embiid-re... – 10:02 PM Adam Aaronson SixersAdam Paul George and Jared McCain: awesome Everybody else on the Sixers: not awesome The Sixers are 2-8. Story coming in a moment. pic.x.com/spjF2UXYbs – 10:02 PM Derek Bodner DerekBodnerNBA Final: Knicks win 111-99 as the Sixers drop to 2-8 on the season, with the tail end of a back-to-back tomorrow night against the 12-0 Cavs. George (29 on 10-19) and McCain (23 on 7-16) were the stars in this one. Embiid (13) was noticeably rusty in his first game of the season. – 10:02 PM StatMuse statmuse KAT against Embiid: 21 he first Knicks center ever to reach those numbers in a game. pic.x.com/fYaraA7j8t – 10:01 PM StatMuse statmuse Embiid in his first game back: 13 PTS (26 MIN) 5 ed the 76ers in assists and free throws. pic.x.com/v3wQBrPRDQ – 9:57 PM Adam Aaronson SixersAdam Embiid sets a moving screen trying to free up Jared McCain off the ball out of the timeout, and the Knicks respond with a Towns bucket. – 9:39 PM Rich Hoffman rich_hofmann Weird Embiid game, because he is moving well defensively. Has been asked to switch and hedge ball screens a crazy amount tonight, doing OK there. Does not really matter if he has no play strength on the other end, though. Could not face up and go by his defender the entire game. – 9:38 PM Derek Bodner DerekBodnerNBA NYK converted that extra possession on the reversed call into a 3, and they've now gone on a 9-0 run to open up an 87-75 lead with 8:39 left. Curious if Nurse gets Embiid any rest down stretch, as he's on pace to finish with 33 minutes, including the entire 4th, if he doesn't. – 9:37 PM Dave Early DavidEarly Embiid gonna need that phantom of process mask again? – 9:36 PM Derek Bodner DerekBodnerNBA Embiid went down after getting hit in the face by Karl-Anthony Towns, whose face collided with Embiid's after making a spin move. Embiid is back up on his feet. Offensive foul, but New York is challenging the call. Call has been overturned. It's now a defensive foul on Oubre. – 9:33 PM Adam Aaronson SixersAdam Joel Embiid took a hard shot to the face from KAT as he defended him in the post. Was down for a moment but is back up. Towns perplexed by the call; New York challenges. – 9:31 PM Adam Aaronson SixersAdam Sixers trail 78-75 after three. Hit a bit of a gut check moment and responded, thanks in large part to McCain. PG is at 24 minutes, Embiid is at 21. – 9:25 PM Adam Aaronson SixersAdam Sixers are pre-switching when Towns goes to screen for Brunson with Embiid in the game. They've done out three or four times. – 9:23 PM Dave Early DavidEarly Sixers rookie Jared McCain dropped the last 7 Sixers buckets then hit this dime to Joel and look how excited Embiid and the crowd gets. McCain time pic.x.com/A0hriEm3Gc – 9:23 PM Adam Aaronson SixersAdam Joel Embiid is smiling and getting the crowd into it after scoring to bring the Sixers within one. But Brunson blows by him and draws a foul. – 9:20 PM Austin Krell NBAKrell Embiid about to check in with 2:15 left in the third and the Sixers down 6. He's played 19 minutes thus far tonight. Nurse said pregame that the limit was 25-30. – 9:17 PM StatMuse statmuse Embiid in his first half back: 8 points 0 field goals pic.x.com/9OFlJZJSi2 – 8:39 PM Kyle Neubeck KyleNeubeck Biggest takeaways from the first half: —Embiid WAY rusty but moving on defense better than I would have thought —McCain is getting 5-10 feet of space on every Embiid screen, he's going to eat good with him —With more reps I think this group can be elite defensively – 8:38 PM Derek Bodner DerekBodnerNBA 1st half is in the books with Knicks hanging on to a 54-50 lead. Paul George is up to 17 points on 6-9 shooting. Embiid has 8, all from the line, and 4 assists, and McCain has added 7 off the bench. Teams are shooting a combined 27% from 3. – 8:36 PM Law Murray LawMurrayTheNU Jared McCain is out here getting direct handoffs from Joel Embiid – 8:34 PM Dave Early DavidEarly Embiid is back to this wedgie sniff Ft routine he used a couple years back for a gag I guess? pic.x.com/iRdSv6LvYO – 8:33 PM Adam Aaronson SixersAdam Towns picks up his third foul with 2:28 left in the first half, and here comes Jericho Sims. Sixers need to make a run to close the quarter, they're now down seven after a New York surge. Towns has been a killer, you have to win Embiid vs. Sims minutes whenever you get them. – 8:31 PM Derek Bodner DerekBodnerNBA The stats won't necessarily show it, but a much better stint from Embiid the second time around. You could really see how McCain and Embiid could complement each other down the line, as McCain got two WIDE open looks off pick-and-roll/DHO sets with Embiid in that short time. – 8:11 PM Law Murray LawMurrayTheNU Joel Embiid being a cone on the defensive glass is why the Knicks ended them in the spring – 8:06 PM Law Murray LawMurrayTheNU Karl-Anthony Towns and Paul George being a part of the New York | Philadelphia rivalry brings me back to one of my rare TV stories a story idea I got because of fake outrage over an IG comment PG left on KAT's page nytimes.com/athletic/29496... – 8:04 PM Derek Bodner DerekBodnerNBA A late surge after Embiid checked back in, with Embiid acting as the setup man, has the Sixers back to within 2 at 27-25 at the end of 1. Embiid had 3 assists in the quarter. Towns has 10 to lead the Knicks. Paul George with 11 for the Sixers. – 8:02 PM Adam Aaronson SixersAdam Embiid assists a Yabusele three, and on the next possession does the same for Jared McCain off movement. – 7:59 PM Adam Aaronson SixersAdam Joel Embiid has more points than technical fouls in 2024-25. He hits a pair of free throws to get on the board. – 7:58 PM Ball Don't Lie Balldontlie Paul George is DIALED IN He has 11 of the Sixers' 15 points pic.x.com/02uFVUUabJ – 7:57 PM Derek Bodner DerekBodnerNBA Jared McCain and Joel Embiid are set to check in after this timeout. Dowtin, McCain, Oubre, Yabusele and Embiid is the lineup. Would like to see how both of these new additions play with the big fella. – 7:57 PM Kyle Neubeck KyleNeubeck Looks like the Sixers are going Embiid/Yabu/Oubre/McCain/Dowtin out of the timeout. Interested to see what the rook looks like playing off of Joel – 7:56 PM Derek Bodner DerekBodnerNBA Paul George is having one of, it not the, best stretches of play we've seen from him during his brief Sixers career. Off-ball cuts, 3s off screens, creating advantages off the bounce and playing solid D. George has 11 of the Sixers first 15 points, with Knicks up 22-15 early. – 7:54 PM Law Murray LawMurrayTheNU Paul George is having a great first quarter on both ends of the floor – 7:53 PM Adam Aaronson SixersAdam Paul George came to play. 11 early points on 4-5 shooting. – 7:52 PM Law Murray LawMurrayTheNU Stan Van Gundy, RE: Embiid (and anybody else we can apply this to) "There's nothing that prepares you for NBA basketball except playing NBA basketball" – 7:44 PM Derek Bodner DerekBodnerNBA Joel Embiid's first stint of the night was 5 minutes long. Nick Nurse said before the game that they're looking at the 25-30 minute range for Embiid tonight. Andre Drummond checks in with the Knicks up 12-6 early. – 7:44 PM Kyle Neubeck KyleNeubeck Sharpness not there yet for Embiid during the first shift, hesitating all over the floor, led to a couple of turnovers. Not exactly a new thing in his first game back from long layoffs, of course – 7:43 PM Adam Aaronson SixersAdam Two possessions, two threes for Karl-Anthony Towns, who has been on fire of late. Sixers open the game with Embiid on him, which is fairly risky. Knicks fans are here and loud. – 7:39 PM Derek Bodner DerekBodnerNBA First play of the Joel Embiid / Paul George era: Embiid finds PG on a cut for the first bucket of the night. – 7:38 PM Adam Aaronson SixersAdam One Sixers possession, one Joel Embiid assist to Paul George. We are off and running. – 7:37 PM Austin Krell NBAKrell Sixers starters: Lowry George Caleb Martin Oubre And Joel Embiid – 7:02 PM Adam Aaronson SixersAdam Kyle Lowry, Kelly Oubre Jr., Paul George, Caleb Martin and Joel Embiid will start tonight for the Sixers. – 7:02 PM Derek Bodner DerekBodnerNBA Sixers starters: George C. Martin Embiid Oubre Jr. Lowry – 7:01 PM Kyle Neubeck KyleNeubeck Sixers starters: George C. Martin Embiid Oubre Jr. Lowry – 7:01 PM Noah Levick NoahLevick Starters for Sixers vs. Knicks: Lowry-Oubre-C. Martin-George-Embiid – 7:01 PM Rich Hoffman rich_hofmann Let's talk about Joel Embiid's return to the court, and Sixers-Knicks. With youtube.com/live/GnBt3Eief... – 6:59 PM Derek Bodner DerekBodnerNBA Joel Embiid is going through warmups. He'll be making his season debut tonight against the Knicks. pic.x.com/ofmEhDNWI9 – 6:54 PM Kyle Neubeck KyleNeubeck Some baseline jumpers for Embiid pregame. Moved out to corner threes shortly afterward: pic.x.com/DRWWXncL9L – 6:50 PM Kyle Neubeck KyleNeubeck New addition to the Joel Embiid pregame routine, a lot of resistance band work and one leg balancing before he gets into his normal shooting pic.x.com/Z1kHw8I7qm – 6:45 PM StatMuse statmuse Embiid last season: 34.7 onight, he's back. pic.x.com/vujOwxaBln – 6:20 PM Austin Krell NBAKrell Paul George is "not quite out of the woods" with his minutes restriction. Nurse said the team will continue to be mindful with his minutes. – 5:50 PM Adam Aaronson SixersAdam Joel Embiid has a minutes restriction tonight, Nick Nurse says. Likely around 25-30 minutes, could go a few minutes in either direction depending on circumstances. Will likely play in shorter stints. Paul George is "not quite out of the woods" with his limitations, Nurse adds. – 5:49 PM Jason Dumas JDumasReports Expect about 25-30 minutes range for Joel Embiid tonight. Similar to Paul George's return. Nurse says he's looked good and has put in a lot of work but tempers things by saying live game. action is always different. pic.x.com/7BXoEs1Kc7 – 5:49 PM Noah Levick NoahLevick Nick Nurse said Joel Embiid will play approx. 25-30 minutes tonight vs. NYK. – 5:48 PM Austin Krell NBAKrell Joel Embiid will be on a 25-30-minute restriction to start out. – 5:48 PM Sirius XM NBA SiriusXMNBA Tune in to NBA Today 4-7p ET w/ & Cavs keep rolling Embiid returns to line-up Klay returns to GS Chris Mullin (Hall of Famer) 6:20p ET Listen Live: sxm.app.link/nbaradiolive Call the Show: (855-622-5867) pic.x.com/4BjjpmrfMd – 3:45 PM NBA on ESPN ESPNNBA "You cannot afford to waste Joel Embiid's prime. ... He gotta come out in great fashion." on Joel Embiid making his 76ers season debut against the Knicks pic.x.com/aq1S0tJSar – 3:33 PM Gina Mizell ginamizell Ahead of the first game Joel Embiid and Paul George will play as Sixers teammates, reviving this story about how their "secret friendship" at All-Star weekends helped bring George to Philly. inquirer.com/sixers/sixers-... – 2:02 PM John Gonzalez JohnGonzalez Latest Beyond the Arc w/ -NBA Cup primer -Can Embiid save the Sixers? -Klay goes back to the Bay -Weekly Overreactions listen/subscribe link.chtbl.com/beyondthearc YouTube – 1:36 PM Sam Quinn SamQuinnCBS On today's Beyond the Arc with me and we're talking In-Season Tournament (I have takes, lots of them), Joel Embiid's debut, Klay Thompson's return, and we give our weekly overreactions: youtube.com/live/tLPaydX0d... – 11:52 AM John Gonzalez JohnGonzalez Beyond the Arc live on YouTube coming up at noon ET w/ -NBA Cup primer -Embiid season debut -Klay returns to the Bay -Weekly Overreactions youtube.com/live/tLPaydX0d... – 11:50 AM CBS NBA CBSSportsNBA LIVE in 15! 12pmET/9amPT: Overreaction Tuesday talking Klay back to the Bay, Embiid vs. Knicks, IST changes & more! Watch here or on YouTube where you can leave a comment or question we can use on the show: youtube.com/live/tLPaydX0d... – 11:48 AM Tom Haberstroh tomhaberstroh One missing NBA star is returning tonight: Joel Embiid. Absences from NBA stars are up 27% this season. What's behind it? sports.yahoo.com/the-nba-has-a-... pic.x.com/KNmYGsKx0f – 9:48 AM Rich Hoffman rich_hofmann And for our Diehards, I wrote about Joel Embiid's return tonight. And also the (faint at the moment!) hope for a fun season of Boston-New York-Philly hoops, which is rarer than you might think: allphly.com/as-joel-embiid... – 8:47 AM

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Derek Bodner: Final: Knicks win 111-99 as the Sixers drop to 2-8 on the season, with the tail end of a back-to-back tomorrow night against the 12-0 Cavs . George (29 on 10-19) and McCain (23 on 7-16) were the stars in this one. Embiid (13) was noticeably rusty in his first game of the season. -via Twitter / November 12, 2024 Austin Krell: Officially official: Joel Embiid is off the injury report for the first time this season. He and Paul George will be available for tomorrow's home game vs the Knick onpattison.com/news/2024/nov/... -via Twitter / November 11, 2024 Embiid said he wants to play Wednesday as the 76ers host the undefeated Cavaliers at Wells Fargo Center, even though the plan all along has been for him not to play both ends of back-to-backs. But both he and Paul George will be evaluated by the team's medical staff Wednesday morning to see how they recovered from Tuesday's game with the Knicks. "It's not my decision," Embiid said. "If I can, I'll be out there." -via New York Times / November 13, 2024 I asked Embiid if the urgency of the 2-8 start, and the ticking down of his prime years, is pushing him to come back sooner rather than working through the regular season more slowly, as had been the long-term plan. He recalled his rookie season, after he'd missed two years rehabbing following multiple foot surgeries. Embiid roared out of the gate, winning Rookie of the Year honors — even though the Sixers held him out of all but one game of the second half of the season. "We were still really competitive," he said of what became a 28-54 season. "And even that year, if they would have let me finish the year, I thought we actually had a chance of making the playoffs. So, urgency, sure. But you've also got to understand, we haven't been healthy. Everybody's getting back. Like I said, based on how it's gone the last couple of years, with us on the floor (together), I think we've got a pretty good chance." -via New York Times / November 13, 2024 Adam Aaronson: Joel Embiid did a lot of typical Joel Embiid stuff in his postgame media availability. Status for tomorrow seems up in the air to some degree; he's already backing off the never playing back-to-backs again stuff but also reiterated he has to focus on long-term health and whatnot. -via Twitter / November 13, 2024