Paul George is hurt again. At this point, it’s probably time to shut him down as well.
Nick Nurse had a very short and telling response in his postgame press conference in Minneapolis following the Sixers’ loss to Timberwolves when it came to Paul George. The veteran wing suffered a groin injury on Tuesday night and Nurse said, “We’re certainly concerned,” when asked about George’s status.
With 21 games remaining in this dreadful 2024-25 season, perhaps there is time for George to return to game action before the end of the season. But, at this point, the juice is not worth the squeeze. While George’s play has been erratic for practically the entire season, his first year with the Sixers has also been marred by a slew of nagging injuries.
It started with a knee injury in the preseason that delayed George’s regular season debut until Nov. 14. After being steadily available from that point until the end of 2024, George dealt with ankle and groin problems that limited his availability in January. George was less available in February than he was in January as he was dealing with a torn tendon in his left pinky. March now looks to be a disjointed month as well for George if he does make an effort to continue to be available here and there with more groin issues.
In total, George has appeared in 41 of the Sixers’ 61 games this season. It’s enough of a sampling to have fans voicing plenty of displeasures over giving him a max contract last summer. But there have also been enough injuries that would have anyone wondering how much of George’s poor performance was hampered by health.
With one quarter of the season remaining, could George travel down a similar path and play in 10-15 of the remaining 21 games? Of course, it all depends on the severity of his latest groin injury. He’s already listed as questionable for Thursday’s game in Boston so that may be an indicator that the Sixers are still going to try to parade George onto the court whenever they can.
To be perfectly clear, no one is gaining anything by continuing to have George dress. Unless, you’re of the mindset that George is helping the Sixers tank. Who would have thought that would have ever been a real take anyone would utter this season? In a perfect world, I’m sure the Sixers would have liked anywhere from 1-3 weeks of good George games in March following his declaration that he was going to zero in on basketball and put his podcast to the side. The hope there was that George was distracted, injured and just didn’t really care as much as he should have in the season’s first three quarters. Any sort of renewed focus and energy towards just playing basketball might boost his trade value heading into the offseason.
It’s a fitting script for George’s season the more you think about it. The moment he’s seemingly more committed to playing basketball is the moment he’s dealing with another injury. At this point, your guess is as good as mine for why the Sixers even want George on the court anymore. It is apparent to everyone that there is no saving grace to be had on this dreadful season for George. The more he plays, the more he will run out of excuses for his poor performance. Sooner or later it’s not going to be health. We now know by George’s own admission that his podcast is no longer a distraction. The more teams conclude that George is simply washed up and his contract is not worth taking on, the more his market will shrink. It’s certainly not growing the more George plays for Philadelphia this season.
The Sixers will have to deal with whatever number of suitors there are for George this summer and see what happens. To avoid being saddled with his contract for its entire duration, the more realistic path for George will be prove he’s healthy next season and start hot. But there is no salvaging this season for George. He’s doing himself far more harm than good by continuing to play.