Paul George is set to make his season debut for the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday, right as Kelly Oubre Jr. has been sidelined with an injury. That could be viewed as lucky timing for the Sixers; in theory, George will fill in for Oubre (who's been great this year) and give the Sixers the extra playmaking dimension he was always supposed to.
But theory and practice are two drastically different things, and the theory of Paul George has been better than the on-court results of Paul George since he got to Philly. Plus, with Oubre on the mend, George will immediately be tasked with a bigger role than he expected to play off the bat. Specifically, the role of a No. 2 option. Can George, after one of the worst years of his career, and recovering from offseason surgery, play that role effectively? Is it fair to ask him to? Is it his own fault that it's no longer fair to expect him to be a reliable co-star every night?
Those questions are loaded. Because usually, you'd say, of course, Paul George can occupy the role Kelly Oubre had been playing. But if you factor in his injuries and how bad he looked for long stretches last year, that answer becomes a little less declarative.
Paul George will immediately be asked to be the Sixers No. 2 option
With no time to acclimate and no easing into the season, George has to produce right away for the Sixers. He's the only high-level wing on this roster right now (unless you believe in Justin Edwards popping off the past two games). Despite him being Paul George, his first year with the team didn't raise confidence that he can seamlessly fit into the offensive hub wing role that he'll need to be for this team to reach its ceiling.
In the first 12 games of the season, Kelly Oubre sort of looked like the player Sixers fans expected Paul George to be last year. The basketball gods continue to play a sick trick on the Philadelphia 76ers and the good people of Pennsylvania.
With Joel Embiid still sidelined and now Oubre set to miss time as well, George can't really slink into the background and be a good role player. He will be forced to be the kind of player he is being paid to be. No one expects him to be the top-three MVP-finishing Paul George he once was in Oklahoma City. But he also needs to do more than he did last year.
Paul George basically just needs to be Kelly Oubre, and everything will be okay. What a bizarre sentence.