As the NBA season warms up, the Philadelphia 76ers are set to clash against the Cleveland Cavaliers at the Wells Fargo Center on Wednesday. A win would extend the Cavs’ winning streak to 13 games, tying it with the most in franchise history. The 76ers, plagued by injuries, are coming off a loss to the New York Knicks, and look to provide a comfortable target for their opponents. Recent news amplifies the chances of this happening.

According to Shams Charania, 76ers stars Joel Embiid and Paul George will not play the game against the Cavs, scheduled for today at 7:30 p.m. Eastern. This is a blow for the team since the Sixers have already lost eight games this season and won only two.

Though previously too it was questionable whether Embiid or George would play, this news has disappointed their fans. Embiid returned to the lineup after a knee management period and NBA suspension on Tuesday. He could only hit 13 points with 3 rebounds and 5 assists. The 76ers subsequently lost the game by a 111-99 margin. 

Given that his franchise wants a healthy lineup in the playoffs, the 30-year-old had already cast doubt on his participation in back-to-back games. “If I had to guess, I would probably never play back-to-backs the rest of my career,” Embiid had stated last month. Even the franchise President Daryl Morey has expressed not putting pressure on Embiid and George to play back-to-back games.

Meanwhile, George is also not at the best of his fitness. The no. 8 had recently recovered from a knee injury, making his debut against the Phoenix Suns in early November. On Tuesday, he was the highest scorer and rebounder for the 76ers, hitting 29 points and collecting 10 boards, thus scoring a double-double.

However, there was news that he was to be evaluated before today’s game and, unfortunately, things don’t seem to have turned in his favor. Meanwhile, Charles Barkley shared his take on Embiid’s absence from most of the season till now.

Charles Barkley has his recommendations for Joel Embiid

As the 76ers lost their game against the Knicks, their head coach Nick Nurse opined Embiid was “rusty.” Citing his injury woes, Nurse expounded that though he had “seen him kind of play through that before,” the Cameroon-born “got a little tired again in the fourth.”

But according to him, it was expected. Even Embiid echoed the same ‘rusty’ sentiments, which probably was the reason that triggered Barkley.

“The coach said his conditioning was not there, and he was rusty. How is it going to get better? Practicing now is not going to same as the actual game. So let’s say he don’t play tomorrow. First thing he’s probably not gonna practice the next day they play back-to-back games. Wouldn’t he actually get to gonna play like competitive basketball unless he… like he doesn’t have to play 40 minutes,” Barkley expressed citing how the Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr was managing Steph Curry’s workload.

Concluding his talk, the 1993 NBA MVP expounded that “But he’s not gonna get in better shape, or competitive spirit just showing up for practice a couple of days later.” As it remains to be seen how the 76ers will perform, it will also be worth noting when George and Embiid take the court together. As for now, all fans can hope is to weather the Cavs storm.