The Philadelphia 76ers are off to a 1-3 start, thanks in large part to the lack of injuries to stars Joel Embiid and Paul George.

George made two appearances in the preseason and suffered a bone bruise in his hyperextended left knee during his second game. Embiid did not appear at all during the preseason while recovering from a left knee injury.

Between that and an injury history that limited him to an average of 54 games per season during his eight-year NBA career, fans and media have become skeptical about how much Embiid wants to play. That doubt is developing into a story as a 2024-2025 season that brought championship expectations ends in early disappointment.

Earlier this week, the Sixers were fined $100,000 by the NBA for making “inconsistent” statements about Embiid’s health.

After practice Friday, Embiid responded to growing dissatisfaction from fans and media, pushing back against the idea that he doesn’t want to play and reminding fans that he has played with serious injuries beforecoming back before he probably should have.

Embiid went on to single out Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Marcus Hayes, who wrote Wednesday that the Sixers should offer fans a refund for games in which he does not play. Hayes then called Embiid “the least reliable superstar in the history of the game” and accused the Sixers of committing fraud against their fans by selling tickets to games where the team knows Embiid will not play.

Head coach Nick Nurse also faced that criticism ahead of Wednesday’s 105-95 loss to the Detroit Pistons. He asked WIP’s Howard Eskin if it was “fair to paying customers” not to know if the Sixers’ stars would play.

The nurse said Embiid and George would participate in practice Thursday and Friday, and he would have a better idea of ​​their status afterward. But Embiid told reporters he will not play in Saturday’s game against the Memphis Grizzlies. George will also stay out.

ESPN’s Shams Charania reported that Embiid has participated in 5-on-5 scrimmages, which supports the Sixers’ claim that he is getting ready to play. Still, the team wants to make sure he’s 100% healthy before letting him take the field.

That probably won’t reassure fans who bought tickets to games because they thought they would see Embiid and George play instead of sitting on the bench in plain clothes.