Revenge fueled Paul George in his first game at the Los Angeles Clippers’ Intuit Dome. He wanted to lead his Philadelphia 76ers to a win, scoring 18 points on 7-9 shooting in 24 minutes, but a dreadful second half doomed his chances of sticking it to the fans who booed him. The extra motivation helped PG get through the “rough patch” he’s experiencing as he rebounds from a knee injury.
George played well for the most part. He committed four turnovers and four fouls but was the only consistent source of offense for the Sixers, draining shot after shot while also accumulating seven rebounds and three steals. Although he played well in front of his hometown, most of his points came in the first half. He was essentially a non-factor in the second half as Philly limited his minutes in his second game back from a bone bruise.
Getting back up to full speed is a gradual process for George, who admitted that it’s not exactly a great time.
“Yeah, I’m still, I feel like, trying to get my body back and just [my] rhythm,” George told reporters. “I think my execution is just off and then my rhythm, my timing with ball handling is just off. Just trying to get a feel for that. These are my first real, real, real live situations, playing these games. They’re throwing a lot of stuff at me that I’m [not quite] ready for at this moment ’cause I’m still just trying to get back healthy and [get my] lungs together and cardio together. I’ll be better. I’m gonna put the work in. But it is a rough patch, I would say, for myself. I gotta be better for these guys.”
Paul George getting into the swing of things in first games with 76ers
Nick Nurse said that he wanted to keep George’s minutes to somewhere between 25 and 30 to make sure the team didn’t “run him too much further” after handling a heavy workload during his time on the court. The veteran played 31 in his season debut but admitted after the game that that wasn’t the initial plan.
“He had some, obviously, some good buckets and played some pretty good defense at times, as well,” the 76ers head coach told reporters. “But again, he’s still working his way back in, conditioning-wise.”
The 76ers not yet having a win in George’s two games is not the most shocking occurrence, especially given the fact that he returned to action on the road against two solid, Western Conference teams. But the Sixers have fallen to 1-6 on the season and George didn’t realize the score in their closest loss to date, costing them a chance to snatch a win over the Phoenix Suns.
Joel Embiid’s return is right around the corner, so things could start looking up for the 76ers soon. They could become really good in an instant if George can also regain his tip-top shape over the next few games.
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