Paul George aims to return within the week after a ‘super frustrating’ recovery from a bone bruise in his knee

Paul George is feeling better, but the 76ers forward admits his experience is “super frustrating.”

The nine-time All-Star, who will miss his third straight game Wednesday with a bone bruise in his left knee, said he hopes to return within the next week. George hasn’t cleared that with the team, but it is the time frame he’s targeting. He is listening to his body and doesn’t feel unsafe to return.

“I’m just still trying to check off more boxes,” he said. “I’ll do more tomorrow, [then] a day off [on Thanksgiving]. I’ll do more than that the following day. So it’s a ramp-up. Hopefully at that point, it’s pretty safe in my mind that I’m ready to return.”

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For now, George, Joel Embiid, and Kyle Lowry will remain sidelined when the Sixers host the Houston Rockets on Wednesday at the Wells Fargo Center.

George partially participated in Tuesday’s practice. He donned a bulky brace on his knee while partaking in post-practice one-on-one drills. Caleb Martin (lower back soreness), Embiid (left knee injury management), and Lowry (strained right hip) did not practice. Martin is listed as questionable for Wednesday’s game.

A four-time All-Defensive selection, George is still recovering after he hyperextended his left knee during last Wednesday’s 117-111 road loss to the Memphis Grizzlies. He also missed three weeks after he hyperextended that knee and suffered a bone bruise during an Oct. 14 preseason game against the Atlanta Hawks.

“To have a reoccurring injury is super frustrating,” he said. “But I’m always super positive about stuff. It was a setback, but I’ve been getting stronger and [doing] everything I need to work on to get back into the mix. I’m at a good place of progressing. I hope to be back with the guys very shortly.”

George can’t help the struggling Sixers (3-13) against the Rockets, who take a 12-6 record into Tuesday night’s game against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

The Sixers will, once again, have the tough task of facing a team without Embiid and George, their two best players.

Embiid has missed the last two games with left knee swelling and has played only four of this season’s 16 games. The 2023 NBA MVP missed the entire preseason and the first six games for injury management before serving a three-game suspension. Embiid made his debut on Nov. 12 against the New York Knicks before sitting out the next night’s game due for load management.

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The Sixers will try to avoid losing for the seventh time in eight games. George noted that the team’s effort and energy have to improve to turn things around. He knows it is limited with two stars out and Tyrese Maxey returning from a strained right hamstring three games ago.

“But we’ll change this,” George said. “We’ll change this around. I’m 100 percent betting down on that we’ll change this. It’s on us, we’ve got to control what we can.”

The Sixers had a well-publicized team meeting after a blowout road loss to the Miami Heat on Nov. 18. The highlight of that was Maxey challenging Embiid to be on time for team activities.

In the meeting, players told coach Nick Nurse that they wanted to be coached harder. The coaches, in turn, said they wanted the players to participate with purpose and attention to detail.

That’s typically not a good sign. So what gives George confidence that the Sixers can turn things around?

“This locker room hasn’t ... we haven’t kind of pulled away from one another,” he said. “We all kind of looked in the mirror, kind of faced what we are up against. No one said this is over. No one is doubting that we can make a push. Obviously, our margin of error is slim. And we are going to need every game that we can get at this point. But we are optimistic about it.”

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Having the NBA’s second-worst record wasn’t the expectation when the Sixers signed George to form a Big Three with Embiid and Maxey this summer. However, the trio has been on the court together for 6 minutes, 9 seconds.

“It’s challenging, especially [when] you look at the guys that came here for that reason of playing alongside myself, Joel and Tyrese,” George said. “We’re asking them to do a lot in the absence of us. It’s tough for me to watch that. Guys are putting everything on the line. Some of them are getting banged up. So that’s the challenging part from a personal point [of view] for myself, looking and watching that.

“That’s what I’m working extremely hard to try to come back for, to help these guys out. ... But it’s life, you’ve got to keep going. I live by that. One foot in front of the other, keep going.”