Paul George and the Weight of Absence
The 76ers’ big three has already fallen to one. Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid did not play in Wednesday night's game against the Brooklyn Nets. It was up to Paul George to pull it together for this team. However, he simply could not during this game. He finished with two points, six rebounds, and four assists while shooting 1-7 from the field.
This has been the seventh time so far this season that George has had to step up to the plate. The worst part was that he only scored single digits during this game along with previous games. The 76ers are not happy about this situation that is at hand. Head Coach Nick Nurse is not happy about the way he has been playing either and it shows on the sidelines of the courts. George has been flunking in almost every aspect of being a part of the 76ers this season.
Through five games alone this season, George has averaged out 10.2 points, three rebounds and three assists at 39.6 percent shooting. The Sixers in the process of all of this have lost all five of these games. They keep sinking themselves down further and further into a spot where they can’t get out of for the rest of the season. This is not a good look for them and if they don’t start getting their all-stars back on the court any time soon, the season may be lost. George is struggling without having Maxey or Embiid on the court. He is currently blaming his recent injuries on the slump that he has fallen into when it comes to being a part of the game. He said he was looking forward to the All-Star break.
The 76ers picked him up when he was released into free agency after playing for the Los Angeles Clippers for several years. They were willing to extend his contract, but they could not come to terms with it. The 76ers however offered him something better. It is currently a busted contract, however, they want to sign him for over $50M for another three seasons. Right now the Clippers are thrilled they did not keep him on their roster.
It’s not all about him who keeps messing things up on the 76ers courts. It’s mostly about how he doesn’t have the assistance that he needs. He hasn’t been able to play well because he can’t play with the guys that he needs to because they are both out at the moment. If Maxey and Embiid were playing with him again, this would be much different for him and the 76ers would have a better chance at winning. When Embiid does play, the results seem to turn out differently all around for this basketball team. It does not just fall back on George all of the time.
