CAMDEN N.J. — If there’s a criticism to be leveled against the 5-3 Sixers early this season, it’s on the defensive end of the basketball court. And those worries would seem more pronounced if the team didn’t have one of the league’s best defensive players nearing a return to action.

Paul George will meet with doctors over the weekend to assess the progress on his surgically repaired knee. George has practiced fully since late-October but has not been cleared. He’s looked like himself in portions of practice open to the media, and coach Nick Nurse is optimistic that a return could be near.

“I think he’s moving very well,” Nurse said Friday, after a practice session that ended with George and Jared McCain going up and down the court in shooting and fitness drills. “He’s shooting very well.

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