The Philadelphia 76ers Big Three of Joel Embiid, Paul George, and Tyrese Maxey but still no end to their struggles. Considering these names, fans had every reason to believe Philly would be a serious contender. But as the season unfolded, things didn’t exactly go as planned. Both Embiid and George have struggled to find their rhythm, and while neither has looked like their usual selves, PG’s drop-off has been particularly concerning.
Yes, PG has been suffering from health issues, however, the concern is not about his availability, but his performance. Excluding the season 2015, where he played just 6 games because of his severe leg injury, this is the first instance after 10 consecutive seasons when Paul George is averaging 20 points per game. If not missing the games because of health, is he being distracted from the game by something else? Let’s say… his podcast. Well, Stephen Jackson strongly disagrees.
“I don’t think I got nothing to do with the podcast. I just think P gotta find his love for the game again… I’ve never been through injuries, so I don’t know how injuries can deter somebody… He’s [George] been through a lot,” Jack said. Stephen stated he has gone through a lot himself, but he never let any of it affect his game. For him, it was all about basketball once he stepped onto the hardwood.
And Jackson expects the same from Paul Goerge. “I just think he [PG] gotta get his love for the game back because that ain’t the P that we normally see, that we that we know, bro. We know P different than that,” he said on Gil’s Arena.
Feb 12, 2025; Brooklyn, New York, USA; Philadelphia 76ers forward Paul George (8) reacts during the fourth quarter against the Brooklyn Nets at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images
But is it really just a matter of love for the game? NBA insider Shams Charania recently reported that Paul George has been receiving pain relief injections just to stay on the court. PG himself confirmed it, saying, “the report is true. I’m taking some sorts of medicines to kind of, I guess, play through pain. But yeah, I’m going to try to give everything I got.”
However, it’s not just George’s shortcomings that have been an issue of concern for the Sixers.
Joel Embiid opens up on his struggles this season furthering 76ers’ challenges
Philadelphia 76ers fans have grown accustomed to seeing Embiid dominate the court. But this season has been a different story. Even Embiid himself knows it. In a brutally honest moment, he admitted that his play just isn’t where it used to be.
“The way I was playing a year ago, it’s not the way I’m playing right now. And it sucks,” he confessed in an interview shared by journalist Derek Bodner on X. “It’s just tough because you know you can do so much more.” Having averaged 30+ points per game for the last 3 seasons, Embiid is running below the 25 ppg mark this season.
So the frustration is understandable from Embiid himself. When you’re an MVP-caliber player, anything less than your best feels like a letdown. The main culprit? His lingering knee issues. They’ve slowed him down, affected his consistency, and made it hard for him to dominate like before. “I’m not as dominant as I was a couple months ago,” he admitted.
Still, Embiid isn’t making excuses. He knows there’s work to be done. “There’s no excuses; it’s just the way it is… But my dominant self, I’ll get there,” he said. For Sixers fans, that’s the hope—that both he and Paul Goerge find their way back.
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