Paul George‘s first season with the Sixers has been a disappointment so far, and not just because of the team’s 7-16 record, writes Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Adding George in free agency was the team’s major move of the summer, but he has struggled to find his role in the offense since returning from an early-season injury. Joel Embiid‘s sinus fracture may force George to take on more of the scoring, but the Sixers have to find a way to get everyone involved when he, Embiid and Tyrese Maxey are on the court together.
“I think just moving a little more, just finding my way of moving,” George responded when asked about improving his production. “Running the floor a little bit better. I think we got to allow each other to create space. So I have to cut to the nail sometimes to allow Tyrese to play in the open court, then I got to do it. But I think for sure, just more clarity for myself.”
Pompey states that George was virtually a “bystander” for much of Friday’s loss to Indiana, finishing the first half with just three points on three shots. Coach Nick Nurse acknowledged the need to get George more involved, but he said the Pacers’ aggressive defense disrupted his team’s normal attack.
“We weren’t very good in the first half,” Nurse said. “Some of the up-court pressure took us out of better execution, right? We really got to look at that and get better. It’s just full-court man-to-man, pick-up pressure. It’s not like it’s a trapping thing. It’s just you still got to be able to ball down the first and get into our stuff and execute stuff.”
There’s more from the Atlantic Division:
- Although the Sixers are still in 12th place in the East, Kelly Oubre believes they have solved some of their early-season issues, Pompey adds in a separate story. “We’ve been taking strides in the right direction,” Oubre said after the team had its two-game winning streak snapped. “I think tonight was a little step back. But at the end of the day, we cannot define or determine us because we are getting better. Our last ten games have been really good for us. We just have to learn from this one. I wouldn’t say forget it or wash it at all because, obviously, we have enough of those losses that we can do that with, but every game is more and more important. We need to win these. So continue to stay confident and get back to who we are, figure that out, and keep getting better off of that.”
- The Nets will waive rookie wing Yongxi Cui to open up a two-way spot for Reece Beekman, who’s being acquired from the Warriors in the Dennis Schröder trade, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link). Cui will miss the rest of the season after tearing the ACL in his left knee.
- The Knicks‘ trade options will be limited this season because they’re about $500K away from their second-apron hard cap, notes Steve Popper of Newsday. Popper considers Mitchell Robinson to be the team’s most valuable trade piece, as the arrival of Karl-Anthony Towns may have made Robinson expendable.
Source link
