The Philadelphia 76ers are ready to be up there with the Boston Celtics in the battle to compete for who comes out of the Eastern Conference. They have an experienced head coach in Nick Nurse managing two big names. Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey have become bonafide superstars. In NBA Free Agency, they also added Paul George to the mix which reinforces their talent at the wing position. There are quite literally not many gaps in this team's starting five.
But, all of this will depend on how Paul George co-exists with Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid. It took some time for the star guard to pop off alongside the former Most Valuable Player. The case of the All-NBA player freshly acquired off NBA Free Agency manning the wings might not be the same at all. Even Maxey outlined that George will be a great fit with the 76ers just by looking at his player archetype and style of play, via Take Off with John Clark.
“He's that guy who you can pick up and plug into any system because of his talent. He's 6'9. This guy can shoot the ball, rebound the ball, and pass the ball well. Play on the ball, play off the ball, play off hand-offs, play off transitions. Like, you know, the sky is the limit,” Tyrese Maxey said.
George's fit with the 76ers
Paul George has played well with other stars and learned to complement them. Kawhi Leonard, Russell Westbrook, and James Harden are the most recent examples of this back when he was with the Los Angeles Clippers. There are concerns about George being ball-dominant. This is especially because Joel Embiid plays a lot of post-up actions and even face-ups. However, this does not worry the 76ers guard at all.
“Having a guy like Joel Embiid, who's the best player in the league, you have to be able to play off the ball, and you have to be able to play in hand-off games with him. You have to do a lot of different things to be versatile and I think he could do that. I think he could play with the second unit and lead those units as well. So, we'll see. That's Coach Nurse's job to figure out how we're going to play. I just go out there and do what Coach Nurse tells me to do… It'll be great,” he added.
George notched 22.6 points on a 47.1% clip from all three levels of the field. This was alongside guys who loved to play with the ball in their hands in the Clippers system. Moreover, he still impacts the game with his 5.2 rebounds and 1.5 steals. If anything, his gravity is likely going to draw defenders away from Embiid too. When the 76ers do need him to facilitate, he will also not falter. George's 3.5 assists prove that he is a capable dime-dropper.
There are a lot of things that the 76ers need to shake up with this new NBA Free Agency acquisition. Schemes and rotations are going to be crucial such that they win in a dominant fashion heading into the 82-game regular season campaign.
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