The Philadelphia 76ers defeated the Atlanta Hawks 104-89 in preseason action on Monday night. The attention of all Sixers fans will not be at the result, but rather the status of one of the team’s star players.
Paul George left the game midway through the second quarter after appearing to injure his left knee. He had played 12 minutes up to that point, recording eight points on 3-of-5 shooting. After George did not come out for the second half, Gina Mizell of The Inquirer reported he was out with a left knee hyperextension.
The injury appeared to occur when George was defending a drive to the basket in the second quarter.
COMPLETE speculation here but…
This didn’t look comfortable for Paul George. Hopefully him sitting the second half is unrelated. https://t.co/Ode0cpYQNK pic.twitter.com/fakgqJUstA
— Erin Grugan (@eringrugan) October 15, 2024
George, a nine-time All-Star, was in the midst of an impressive preseason. He scored 23 points against the Minnesota Timberwolves, with his 3-point shooting (4 of 9) immediately standing out. The 34-year old quickly showcased the type of impact he could make for the Sixers.
While George is an immensely talented player, one of the concerns when the Sixers signed him this offseason was his injury history. Before playing 74 games for the Los Angeles Clippers last season, George had not eclipsed 56 games played since the 2018-19 campaign. This knee injury has a chance to delay George’s regular season Sixers debut. The Sixers’ regular-season opener is a road matchup against the Milwaukee Bucks on Oct. 23.
