The Philadelphia 76ers have hit a bit of a rough patch after the calendar flipped, having lost three of their last four games. This came after a very encouraging stretch wherein they managed to rack up 10 wins in 13 games to ocmpletely turn their season around and keep them alive in the playoff race out East.
Nonetheless, it is hasty to consider the 76ers as struggling to stay afloat. They surely cannot overreact to theri recent losses, especially since they were either disadvantaged rest-wise or without their best player in some of those games. The team trending in the right direction is still a fact that stands.
Having said that, not every player on the 76ers roster has had a midseason rejuvenation. There are still names on the team that are yet to truly find their groove, and to quickly address their slow starts, a big change could be imperative sooner than later.
The 76ers could explore the idea of benching Paul George
Philadelphia bore witness to a strange switch-up in their recent game when Phoenix moved one of their All-Stars, Bradley Beal, to the second unit — a pretty shocking development to one of the most star-studded teams in the league that came after their pretty deflating start to the season.
Yet the Suns cruised to victory over the 76ers, with Beal finishing the night with 25 markers on great efficiency, turning in one of his better performance this season.
The 76ers are, in some way, similar to the Suns in that their third fiddle has immensely struggled this season. Paul George, who just turned in career-highs across the board on all shooting categories, has suddenly lost his touch, the nine-time All-Star averaging his lowest points per game since his rookie season. Put simply, he hasn’t looked like anywhere near a max contract-level player.
At this juncture, moving George to the bench should not be outside the realm of reality for Philly. The 76ers do have one of the lowest-scoring bench squads in the league, and with more shot attempts and higher usage, he might be able to find his rhythm as a scorer and shooter altogether.
A temporary demotion, if you can truly call it that, would not be the most terrible idea out there to help him regain his mojo. George is a rhythm player, and so far, he has not really looked comfortable settling himself into games as a third option.
The Philadelphia 76ers cannot afford a full-blown implosion from Paul George. hence, they must do whatever they can to help him get back his footing, even if that means doing the unthinkable.