With news that both Jared McCain and Joel Embiid will be out indefinitely after sustaining injuries against the Indiana Pacers on Friday night, the Philadelphia 76ers’ road the rest of the way is looking very bleak. Many would imagine that Philly still sees themselves in the playoffs, being as though they sit only three games behind the 8th-seeded Pacers. Still, if the Sixers can’t trust Paul George to step up as the city awaits Embiid’s return from yet another setback, this season is as good as done.
It’s Time for Paul George to Step Up
More Scoring, Less Facilitating
Coming into the season, many believed that George was a perfect fit for Philly. Excusing the injury history, fans thought his ability to catch-and-shoot, his on-ball scoring, movement without the ball, and the fact that he supplied the Sixers with a ball-handler who could relieve Tyrese Maxey of playmaking duties would make the difference for Philly in the playoffs. Unfortunately, that has not been the case so far this season. The problem? George has seemed reluctant to score the ball.
As of now, George is averaging just 13.8 field goal attempts a game, with 6.3 of those attempts being from behind the arc. The lowest attempts from the field in a season since his 2014-15 campaign that saw him return from a gruesome leg injury sustained during a Fiba scrimmage, playing just six games that season. Not only that, but because he’s having the second-worst three-point shooting season of his career, shooting just 31.7% from downtown, George is seemingly a non-factor at times when the ball is out of his hands.
Putting Pressure On The Rim
One of, if not the main issue with, Paul George’s play this season is his inability to put pressure on the opponent’s rim defense. The majority of the Sixers’ scoring inside, without Embiid, has come from McCain & Maxey drives or finding cutters underneath the basket, as they lead the league in points per possession off of cuts. For a team that ranks eighth in the league in free throw attempts, despite being 22nd in free throw percentage and bottom five in three-point percentage, getting to the rim is the key to victory for this 76ers team. Philly needs PG to step up now more than ever if they plan to build on their latest success, now without two key pieces.
In the last game against Indiana, George would often see size mismatches when handling the ball. The Pacers were willing to throw smaller guys, like Andrew Nembhard and Bennedict Mathurin, at George time after time, and he would let them off the hook by forcing a contest mid-range jumper. That’s been the story all season long. As Maxey continues to receive an unfavorable whistle on drives to the basket, George’s unwillingness to attack the paint does nothing but a disservice to the rest of the offense. If George is aggressive at the rim, the entire offense opens up, and the Sixers will start to see more open looks from three. But if teams don’t have to fear George from behind the arc or inside the paint, prepare for the rest of the season to look similar to the start.
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