A new process begins 🏀 | Sports Daily Newsletter

As much hype as there’s been around the Sixers’ offseason, fans will have to wait to see the star trio of Joel Embiid, Paul George, and Tyrese Maxey take the floor together.

A day before their season opener at the Wells Fargo Center, the Sixers announced that they will be without Embiid and George against the Milwaukee Bucks.

Let’s not panic. It’s the first game of the season, and as mentioned by coach Nick Nurse, their focus is prioritizing the team’s health for the long run. So the Sixers proceeding without the two comes as no surprise.

Also, don’t forget that Embiid, who is resting his knee as a precaution after meniscus surgery in February, sat out all six preseason games and has not participated in five-on-five scrimmages, while George has been sidelined since he suffered a bone bruise to his left knee in an Oct. 14 exhibition game.

It’s not an ideal situation, but it’s one of 82 games. Keeping a clean bill of health will be key as the Sixers attempt to make good on a summer that set them up to compete in the Eastern Conference, writes Keith Pompey.

— Isabella DiAmore, @phillysport, sports.daily@inquirer.com.

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Cooper DeJean broke into the starting secondary on Oct. 13, and with Britain Covey on injured reserve, the rookie stepped in as a punt returner as well. Over the last two weeks, DeJean is making a strong case to earn an increased role in the return game for the rest of the year.

Over the years, Embiid and George gradually built a connection during All-Star weekend appearances. They grew close enough that it felt inevitable to band together with the Sixers. George even said that he “had Philadelphia as one of my top teams” if he chose to leave the Clippers.

The Sixers haven’t been short on talent during the Embiid era, yet they’ve failed to make good on that ability in the postseason. Could that change this year? Here are The Inquirer’s predictions for the 2024-25 season.

Defenseman Nick Seeler was activated from injured reserve Tuesday and made his season debut against the Capitals. It hasn’t been an easy start to the season for Seeler. During a preseason game against the Boston Bruins, Seeler blocked a puck that caught him where there wasn’t any padding on his leg. He suffered nerve damage, but now he’s ready to get back to doing what he does best: blocking shots.

The Flyers’ offense continued to look disjointed, as it misfired passes and had issues corralling the puck during Tuesday night’s three goal loss to Metropolitan division foe Capitals.

Diane Richardson and Yolanda Laney, two coaches, one at Temple and the other a fixture of the local youth basketball scene, rejoiced as Jonquel Jones and Betnijah Laney-Hamilton won their first WNBA title with the New York Liberty.

Who has scored the most points in an NBA season opener?

B: Wilt Chamberlain. — Mike V. was first with the correct answer.

We asked: What are your Week 8 predictions for the Eagles-Bengals matchup? Among your responses:

The ghosts of Dick Lebeau and Horst Muhlmann will haunt the Eagles locker room prior to their game. This will result in Nick Sirianni not using Saquon Barkley until the 3rd series, at which point they’ll be down 17-0. He will claim in the postgame presser (with his kids on his lap), that he knew the Bengals would expect him to run Saquon early and often, but he was too smart to do that. He will also go for the 1st on 4th down twice, rather than attempt a chip shot FG, and fail each time. Hurts will throw 2 costly red zone INT’s, and despite out gaining the Bengals by 190 yds, the Birds will lose 35-31. What can I say, I’m a lifelong Eagles fan! — Stephen T.

Bengals are 3-4 while Eagles are 4-2. Bengals D is 23rd overall, 14th in passing D, and 27th in rushing D. Could be another big day for Saquon. Bengals obviously can surprise you as they almost did to the Chiefs, but I think the Eagles being really pumped up after the Giants big win are ready to turn it on. I say 30-21 Eagles. Big day with LeSean coming back. — Everett S.

We compiled today’s newsletter using reporting from Keith Pompey, Gina Mizell, EJ Smith, Jackie Spiegel, Jonathan Tannenwald, Ariel Simpson, Avery Hill, Isabella DiAmore, and Gabriela Carroll.

By submitting your written, visual, and/or audio contributions, you agree to The Inquirer’s Terms of Use, including the grant of rights in Section 10.

Thanks for reading! Have a great day, Philly. Kerith will be on the controls tomorrow. — Bella