There were no nerves or jitters for Paul George in his 76ers debut on Friday. The veteran forward made things look easy against the Timberwolves in his debut with the Sixers, finishing with 23 points and six rebounds on 8 of 15 from the floor.
“I felt good,” George said after the game. “I think the main thing for me was to get my wind up and try to just try to find some rhythm.”
George’s talents were on full display, especially in the second quarter after Philadelphia struggled to find the bottom of the net in the first 12 minutes of action. George scored 13 of his 23 points in the second quarter, showing he can more than carry the offensive load when needed. Although the Sixers lost 121-111, which doesn’t mean much considering it’s just the preseason, it was the first tangible evidence of George being the necessary spark the Sixers have needed when Joel Embiid inevitably misses games.
“I got to be aggressive,” George said. “Regardless if it’s preseason or not, I’m trying to just build habits. These guys have to get used to me. I got to get used to them. So I think I had to be myself. You know everybody has to be themselves for this to work.”
With Embiid sitting out Friday’s game, it was George and Tyrese Maxey who led the way for the Sixers, as the two took turns running the offense and pushing the tempo. Having George on the roster allows the Sixers to be versatile with the lineups they run. With Maxey and George on the floor together, the Sixers can operate at a faster pace without sacrificing defense. George also gives the Sixers an additional ballhandler who can create for himself, something that was missing from the team last season.
George joined the Sixers as a free agent this summer, leaving the Clippers after five seasons in L.A. It was a surprising move, not because George joined Philadelphia, which had been rumored for quite some time, but for the fact that the Clippers let George walk away for nothing, recouping no assets in the process. Seeing someone of George’s caliber just walk out the door without a complex trade on the table doesn’t happen very often in today’s NBA, so it was a homerun move for the Sixers as they try to break through to win a championship.
George not only adds to Philadelphia’s offensive depth and is someone who can play on or off the ball, knock down 3s, take guys one-on-one, and set up teammates for shots, but he’s also a reliable defender capable of becoming elite on that end of the floor in the playoffs. George also serves as an insurance policy for the Sixers when Embiid misses the occasional game or two.
With George in tow, this is undoubtedly the best team assembled around Embiid. We haven’t seen the trio of Embiid, George and Maxey play together yet, but on paper, the fit should be seamless. And if Friday night was any indication of what the Sixers are going to get out of George this season, then they’re going to be incredibly difficult to contain.
