Paul George reveals reason for 2-point game without Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey
02/13/2025 11:45 AM
Paul George’s debut season with the Philadelphia 76ers hit a new low point in the team’s 100-96 loss to the Brooklyn Nets.
Without Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey in the lineup, George went scoreless in the first half and ended with just two points. He added six rebounds, four assists, three blocks and two steals to his stat line but was such an empty presence on offense that the Sixers couldn't crack 100 points and dropped their fifth straight game.
George pointed to the Nets’ aggressive defense as the main culprit for his poor performance, according to Adam Aaronson of PhillyVoice.
"I mean, they just blitzed me. They blitzed me," George said, via PhillyVoice. "Any time I had the ball, whether it was pick-and-rolls, whether I had it up top, I tried to just counter that with playing through my teammates, try to make the game easy. We got good shots for the most part, it just wasn’t enough shots in."
Paul George scores just two points in 76ers’ loss to Nets
There were a few instances where George drew defenders to him and ignited ball movement that resulted in a good shot. Such plays don't appear in the box score but do explain why George was a team-best +8 in his 36 minutes and change. George passing to an open Andre Drummond out of the pick-and-roll created an advantage that made its way to Justin Edwards, who capitalized with a dunk.
However, too often, George deferred to teammates, refused chances to attack defenders one-on-one and missed shots he’s usually expected to make. He didn't move the ball quickly after drawing two defenders, leading to a missed opportunity — on the play below, Jared Butler is wide open without a help defender close by — and a tough shot attempt that came up empty.
A player of George’s caliber needs to imprint himself on the game, not just make the plays that come within the flow of it. The 76ers should have had George bring the ball up more and give him an ample amount of pick-and-roll or pick-and-pop plays to move the defense around for him.
The 76ers do a good job breaking aggressive defense when Tyrese Maxey is the target of the defense. He engages defenders and then gets the ball moving. George trying to overcome tough defense as a passenger is not a recipe for success. Rather than get the ball late in the shot clock without any defensive scrambling, George needs to be the one doing the scrambling.
George’s finger injury and the splint he has to wear surely play a part in all this. If he’s uncomfortable using his left hand, it’s way easier to overplay his right side. Since he already struggles to put downhill pressure on defenses, any discomfort he is feeling or tries to avoid only makes it easier for defenses to show help and keep the ball in front of them.
George and the 76ers need to come out of the All-Star break with ideas for how to get him going.
The post Paul George reveals reason for 2-point game without Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey appeared first on ClutchPoints.
