Paul George made his return to the Philadelphia 76ers‘ starting lineup in their rousing win over the Detroit Pistons. He shot 4-12 from the floor yet still made a positive impact in the 111-96 victory.
After three missed games following another left knee bone bruise, George totaled 11 points, eight rebounds, five assists and three turnovers in 26 minutes. Although he’s had way better days as a scorer — even in his bumpy start to his 76ers tenure — he boosted Philly’s offense simply by being out there. Nick Nurse thought the way George ran the offense was immensely beneficial to the team.
“That’s one of my favorite things — when a guy goes 4-12 and has a great game. He had a great game and it had nothing to do with how he shot the ball,” Nurse told reporters. “He had a great tempo, got into the lane, got our offense moving. Get it to him on the second side, he was able to make the next play to whoever. I thought his composure…It just felt like a veteran-type player out there that was in great rhythm of our offense and helping our offense keep its rhythm.”
Paul George’s creation abilities help 76ers defeat Pistons
George got into the midrange a bunch but came up empty outside of the paint, save for a single triple. Those tough shots were not falling for him and it does remain concerning how infrequently he can get a step on his defender. Fortunately for Philly, he was still plenty capable of creating offense for teammates.
The 76ers got some great shots with George running the show. The Pistons’ defense collapsed when he drove and he turned that into some kick-out dishes for three-point looks and some dump-off passes for dunks. George did a solid job of scoring at the basket, noticing when an inferior defender in Tim Hardaway Jr. was on him and using his size to get to the rim.
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With two days off to rest between now and the 76ers’ next game on Tuesday against the Charlotte Hornets, George will have to keep improving and meshing with his teammates. Although he was able to help Philadelphia take down a middling Detroit team, he won’t have many nights where 4-12 shooting does the trick.
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