Paul George joined the Philadelphia 76ers last summer. His addition was supposed to give the Sixers the additional firepower and defense they needed to win a championship.
However, injuries ravaged Nick Nurse’s team. Both George and Joel Embiid struggled to remain on the floor. By the end of the season, even Tyrese Maxey had been ruled out. However, it would appear George’s reputation took a significant hit due to Philadelphia’s struggles.
In The Ringer’s latest player ratings, George was listed at 90.
“There were signs last year that George’s game was starting to show the wear and tear of his injury-marred Clippers era—namely, a noticeable lack of aggression in getting to the basket—but that was offset by career-best shooting efficiency,” Justi Verrier wrote. “But this season, with Embiid persistently (and often mysteriously) absent and the Sixers forced to rely on a supporting cast of veteran minimums and young fliers, George’s flaws were exposed.”
Verrier continued.
“To be fair, George was thrust into some difficult circumstances, including having to play backup center for a spell, but Philly needed its max player to perform like it, and the nine-time All-Star simply didn’t deliver. And if that weren’t enough, his unique brand of commentary only made the groans induced by his play more guttural.”
The Ringer placed George one spot below Payton Pritchard of the Boston Celtics , and one spot above Aaron Nesmith of the Indiana Pacers . The rankings prove that George has a lot to prove next season, especially if he’s going to live up to his $211 million contract.
George Shares Frustrations From Sixers Season
During a recent episode of his “Podcast P with Paul George, ” the veteran All-Star shared his frustrations about his debut season with the franchise.
“I came in healthy,” George said . “I didn’t have any hiccups; I spent the whole offseason working on my body, getting healthy. Then I get to Philly. Preseason, I get hurt…I didn’t have my burst. I couldn’t move. I couldn’t pin what it was…So I started taking medicine to numb it up. Then I had an injury I didn’t even know about. That’s when I found out I had a torn adductor. That whole time, I just couldn’t move.”
George played in 41 games for the Sixers this past season. He averaged 16.2 points, 5.3 rebounds and 4.3 assists. However, Philadelphia will need far more from him moving forward if they want to contend for a championship.
Sixers’ Daryl Morey Shares Thoughts on George
In a recent appearance on “The Mike Missanelli Show” on 97.5 The Fanatic, Sixers President of Basketball Operations, Daryl Morey, gave his thoughts on George’s debut season with the team.
“That, obviously, wasn’t his best year,” Morey said. “He would come out and say that himself. I think he may have done that. We believe he’ll bounce back. He was an elite defender. Offensively, he was brought in to be part of a unit with elite play on the wing defensively, space the floor on offense, with Joel and Tyrese, and we believe that can still work. Obviously, we haven’t really had much of a look at that.”
George, 35, may be approaching the end of his career, but he’s still a better player than he showed last season. The Sixers will now hope both he and Embiid can remain healthy so they can prove Philadelphia’s struggles were just a blip en route to a banner. If they can’t, Morey may need to make some big changes next summer.
This really is a “prove it” year for George, Embiid and the current Sixers roster.
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