Philadelphia won 125-103 on the road against Portland, currently with a record of 13 wins and 17 losses, securing their fourth consecutive victory and nearing a return to the play-in tournament. We previously mentioned that once Embiid is able to play, Philadelphia has no problem making it into the playoffs in the East. Although Embiid's playing style is soft and he wipes the floor, his ability to maintain the team's lower limit is still there. Due to his fragile body, he uses a guard-style approach; otherwise, Embiid would have retired like Oden. The current issue is still with George. It's unclear whether George's cliff-like decline is due to his age or if his ball-handling rights in Philadelphia are even worse than in the Clippers?
George's recent performance has been exaggerated. Today, George shot 4 for 9, made 1 of 3 three-pointers, scored 9 points with 6 rebounds, 4 assists, and 1 steal, but also had 4 turnovers and 5 fouls. This is a giant signed for a $50 million annual salary. Obviously, George has proven Harden wrong again because Harden seems to have overestimated George. In November interviews and after two games against Philadelphia, Harden gave his own evaluation of George.
Harden said that George and himself are still close, and it's good that he left the Clippers because he's happy and making money in Philadelphia, then he'll get more opportunities than in the Clippers. At the same time, Harden also believes that with George gone, he will get more ball-handling rights and more opportunities. Harden's self-evaluation is accurate; this season, Harden's ball-handling rights have skyrocketed, and he has also shown the style of Rocket Harden. However, his prediction about George may only be correct in that George is happy, after all, he's holding a 4-year, $212 million contract. But if you say that George leaving Harden can be more himself and get more ball-handling rights, then Harden is greatly mistaken.
So far this season, George averages just 13.7 shots per game, scoring 15+4+5 with a career-low 40% shooting rate. Last season, when playing with Harden, George averaged how many shots? It was 16.7 shots. His stats were 23+5+4 with a 47% shooting rate and 41% from three-point range, All-Star level data. It can be said that George, who played with Harden, compared to leaving Harden for Philadelphia, has seen a cliff-like drop in overall stats. On the contrary, Harden's stats have reached new highs in recent years after George left. Powell and Zubac's stats have also set new highs.
George is now struggling in Philadelphia. Originally, he resented Harden for making Kawai Leonard and himself blue-collar workers, and George wanted to be the ball-dominant core. However, in Philadelphia, he lost both control and shooting rights, turning himself into a Tobias Harris. This might be the reason why Philadelphia's frontcourt has always been weak under the Embiid model. You either shoulder Harden's organizing work beside Embiid, which doesn't hinder anything. But if you lack organizing ability, your sweet spot will be taken by Embiid, leading to a drop in stats and a lack of presence.
Today, Embiid shot 12 for 21, made 12 of 13 free throws, scoring 37 points with 9 rebounds and 3 assists, while Maxey scored 23 points. According to statistics, when Embiid scores 30+ this season, Philadelphia's record is 4 wins and 1 loss. In December, Embiid scored 31 points against the Bulls, 34 against the Hornets, and then 32 and 37 against the Jazz and Trail Blazers. George has now completely become a supporting player, originally Embiid was the leader, George was second, and Maxey was third, similar to Harden's status distribution in Philadelphia back then.
Now George is even uncertain about being third, except for getting a big contract, everything else is different from what George wants. Moreover, George has already been pressured by the Philadelphia media. After the game, Philadelphia beat writer Keith Pompey tweeted that George can't continue like this. He must play selfishly, isn't it like when Harden was in Philadelphia? Doc Rivers pressured Harden to play more aggressively. When Harden became more aggressive, they said he was too selfish, do you want to be an All-Star and inflate your stats? Anyway, it's never right.