You would be hard-pressed to find anything more underwhelming than the Philadelphia 76ers this season. Despite housing one of the most robust collection of talents in the league, albeit a flawed one, the team has been outside the postseason picture for the entire campaign, signifying that this season may already be a lost one.
On the heels of numerous roster holes and injuries keeping them at bay, the 76ers seem to be on their way to imploding. The worst part is that they do not have the make-up to simply re-pivot and make a grand change to their core, as they have already committed to this nucleus for the next four to five years.
Daryl Morey and the entire front office set that in stone when they signed Paul George to a max contract in free agency, re-signed Tyrese Maxey to a max extension, and extended Joel Embiid’s contract. There is no escaping from this troika of stars for quite some time, and that could spell a pretty grim news for the franchise.
The 76ers have to accept that Paul George is no longer the star they thought he is
George in particular has been disappointing. Just a year removed from turning in various career-highs with the Clippers shooting-wise, he has looked aged this season. Not only is he registering mediocre shooting splits and his worst scoring average since his rookie season, but he is also failing ti get any traction in this specific area.
This season, George is averaging just 2.7 free-throw attempts per contest — the lowest mark in his career since his rookie season (not counting his cameo appearance during the 2014-15 season in Indiana). The nine-time All-Star is barely getting to the rack, and at this point, he is no longer capable of seeking contact in his drives.
As a result, he is constantly settling for perimeter shots. While that has long been his bread and butter, the 76ers do not have the kind fo roster construction to get him clean enough looks. Often, defenses sag off of other less threatening players on the team to clog the lane and prevent him from getting an easy pull-up.
George’s aggression — or lack thereof — especially with Embiid out for the vast majority of games is quite concerning. Defenses are still treating him like a high-octane scorer, but in reality, he may just be better off as a catch-and-shoot operator moving forward.
If you’re the Philadelphia 76ers, that is not what you signed up for. Unfortunately, that is exactly the risk they took when they inked him to a max deal.