Philadelphia 76ers’ new addition, Paul George, has addressed fans with a commitment to improve the team’s fortunes following a difficult 3-13 start to the season.
With their position near the bottom of the standings, the team’s only direction is upward.
Many supporters are understandably nervous as key players continue to be sidelined due to injuries and load management issues.
Paul George on the current state of the season: “We’ll change this around. I’m 100% betting down on that that we’ll change this. It’s on us. We got to control what we can.” #Sixers
— Ky Carlin (@Ky_Carlin) November 26, 2024
This season, George has participated in exactly half of the 76ers’ games (8 out of 16), boasting an average of 14.9 points while shooting 38.3% from the field.
Paul George highlights tonight. 🔥 pic.twitter.com/V09qr1LGLM
— NBACentel (@TheNBACentel) November 25, 2024
Former MVP Joel Embiid has seen action in only four games this year as he navigates “knee injury management.” Presently, the 30-year-old is putting up a career-low average of 19.8 points with a shooting percentage of 37.9%.
The struggles of these two star players have significantly affected the overall performance of the 76ers.
George, at 34, is looking to return to the court “within a week,” having injured the same knee (on November 18 against the Miami Heat) that he hyperextended last month during preseason.
Paul George uploading a podcast the morning after scoring 2 points and leaving the game with an injury while his team is 2-12 is nasty work lmao https://t.co/yXoEbZ1St9
— John (@iam_johnw) November 21, 2024
Paul George & Reggie Jackson discuss the Sixers team meeting after Monday’s loss to Miami. @MetaQuestVR #MetaPartner pic.twitter.com/HLRUzg9bFp
— Podcast P with Paul George (@PodcastPShow) November 21, 2024
George is optimistic that with time and experience, the team’s chemistry will improve, enabling them to return to winning form.
Paul George and Joel Embiid both on the floor post-practice. George clearly working hard with a significant knee brace while Embiid wears slippers. We’ll soon learn how they fared in practice today. pic.twitter.com/W312xKgwIv
— Paul Hudrick (@PaulHudrick) November 26, 2024
Notably, prior to the season’s start, Philadelphia was ranked eighth in the league for the best odds to win the 2024-25 NBA championship (+1400), but those odds have since plummeted to +4000.
As they prepare for their matchup against the Houston Rockets on Wednesday, November 27, both George and Embiid will be absent from the lineup once again.
Paul George and Joel Embiid have been ruled OUT for tomorrow’s game against the Rockets.
(Via @KyleNeubeck) pic.twitter.com/Ijny2iRZb3
— CourtSideHeat (@courtsideheat) November 26, 2024
In the meantime, Philadelphia will depend on their backcourt tandem, Tyrese Maxey (24.4 ppg) and rookie Jared McCain (16.6 ppg).
“Jared’s been awesome… He’s been our most consistent player on our team so far… We definitely gotta step our sh*t up because he can’t be our most consistent player.”
Paul George gives high praise to Sixers rookie Jared McCain 🙌
(via @PodcastPShow) pic.twitter.com/lcpKc1QiIl
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) November 21, 2024
