Grading Paul George’s 76ers debut that left many disappointed

After a three-week absence dating back to the preseason, Paul George finally made his regular season debut for the Philadelphia 76ers last night on the road in Phoenix. It couldn’t have come at a better time, especially with the time sputtering out of the gates due to injuries to him and Joel Embiid.

Unfortunately, his welcome proved to be far from eventful, at least from a winning perspective. Despite mounting a considerable fourth quarter lead, the 76ers bowed down to the Suns thanks to a strong clutch performance from the hosts.

George finished the night with 15 points, five rebounds, and four assists, well short of his normal numbers.

Grading Paul George’s 76ers debut that disappointed many

George’s return meant that Philadelphia would finally be able to share the wealth a bit more given how much Tyrese Maxey had to singlehandedly shoulder the scoring load without his two co-stars. Indeed, the nine-time All-Star’s presence alone freed up more space for the guard, who finished the game with 32 points, but that’s about it with the pros of George’s regular season debut.

While this was certainly expected, George really struggled to get it going against the Suns. He drained just four of his 14 field goal attempts, including a measly 1/7 conversion from three-point range. Clearly, his shooting was pretty rusty even though he sniffed the court for more than 31 minutes.

George also coughed the ball up more than he usually does, racking up six turnovers. His handles were clearly rough thanks to his lack of on-court reps at this juncture, though his turnovers were largely his own doing as Phoenix was not really emphatic on forcing turnovers themselves.

To make things worse, at least optically speaking, George waved off Maxey during the waning moments despite the latter having the hot hand, and missed a would-be game-winner to hand the Suns their sixth win of the season.

There’s still a ton of basketball to be played for George to regain his rhythm and start showing his impact on both ends, but his debut left a lot to be desired.

While his cold shooting is not unprecedented given his long layoff, he also did not really impact the game much aside from the default added spacing he gave to the team’s other operators. Hopefully, as the 76ers also get Embiid back, the team can find its mojo with Paul George bombing away as he always has.

Grade: C