2 Paul George bold predictions for first season with 76ers

07/01/2024 10:11 PM

After months and months of anticipation, on Monday morning, it finally happened: Paul George signed with the Philadelphia 76ers.

Daryl Morey’s cap space plan worked, Philly finally landed the best free agent on the open market, and after trade requests, nut allergies, and more than one player forgetting how to shoot, the Sixers finally find themselves with a Big-3 locked up longer-term that fans can be proud of.

Will the pairing of George, Joel Embiid, and Tyrese Maxey ultimately work? Only time will tell, but considering just how much talent is on the roster right now and how much optionality Morey still has to prove the product, it’s safe to say, this has the potential to be an incredibly fruitful season in South Philadelphia.

Two bold predictions for Paul George in Philadelphia.

2. Paul George shines as a power forward in the playoffs.

As things presently stand, the 76ers’ roster is sort of up in the air, with only four starters penciled in for opening night, assuming Kelly Oubre does end up at the two-guard spot instead of coming off of the bench as a sixth man as per Adrian Wojnarowski in his official signing announcement.

Because of this optionality, there’s a genuine discussion among the fanbase over who should fill out that final spot in the starting five and if the Sixers would be better off targeting a true point guard like, say, Kris Dunn to play next to Maxey instead of going after a budget power forward who may not have an elite trait.

Ultimately, it feels like the 76ers will land a power forward and keep George at the small forward spot come opening night, but unless the team can land a truly elite role player like Cam Johnson to fill out their rotation – instead of a more realistic option like Kenrich Williams or Grant Williams – their best lineup might just be “Playoff P” at the four when it matters most, kicking Oubre to the three and adding another shooter like, say, 2024 first-round pick Jared McCain for a four-out offense around Embiid.

Standing 6-foot-8, 220 pounds, George is actually bigger than Johnson, Williams, or Williams and can hold up to darn near any wing player in the NBA as a defensive player save true bully ball drivers like, say, Julius Randle, but if the goal is to field a healthy roster in the playoffs, instead of pushing Boston for the top seed in the East, keeping him at the three and allowing role players to that punishment in the regular season simply makes more sense.

Paul George opened up about leaving the #Pacers and attempting to get the "the best power forward" in the @NBA to Indiana #PatMcAfeeShowLIVEpic.twitter.com/CBDxPbK64R

— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) June 24, 2020

1. Paul George averages 21 points per game as the 76ers’ third option.

Much has been written about what George’s optimal role is in 2024 and how he could “age well” over the course of his four-year contract.

After initially beginning his career as a true number one, leading a plucky Indiana Pacers team to punch well above their weight class against LeBron James and company, Paul has never been more than a 1B since taking his talents to Oklahoma City, splitting time on-ball and off, depending on who he was playing with at the time.

In LA, George was very active on-ball, routinely hitting usage ratings above 30 and ranking either first or second on the team in terms of points scored. When Leonard was down, George would pick up the slack, and when PG-13 needed an assist, he could routinely turn to the “Claw” for a clutch bucket or two, and while that strategy didn’t lead to a championship, it did keep the team competitive, even if they were seemingly always on the lookout for a point guard.

In Philadelphia, George doesn’t need to be the first option, a 1b, or even a two in order to have a fantastic, All-Star-caliber season. All he needs to do is average a little over 20 points per game on good efficiency numbers, and success will naturally follow.

Now on paper, that feels like sort of a counterproductive thing to suggest, as the 76ers didn’t hand George a max contract, worth more than the one they gave to Maxey, to just be a super role player, but PG-13 really does do what Philly needs most of all, as they really didn’t have a forward who could run pick-and-rolls at a high level with Embiid last fall and were even lighter on two-way players who could slow down the Celtics’ one-two punch of Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum had they been able to face them in the playoffs instead of being bumped by the New York Knicks. If George can hit the sort of open 3s that always seem to materialize when Embiid is on the court and form a two-man game with Maxey as a roll man instead of just a joystick driver, all three of Philly’s stars will have a very good season in 2024-25 indeed.

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