Paul George is unhappy with his team's arrangement and publicly complains about being tired of his current role. It seems that George has started causing trouble again before the end of this season, openly complaining about the role set for him by the team. Generally speaking, once such remarks unfavorable to team unity are made public, it usually means that the team is not far from disbanding.
Here's what happened: in a recent game between the 76ers and the Pelicans, the 76ers lost to the Pelicans with a score of 115-123. In this game, Paul George played for 35 minutes, shooting 10 out of 22, including 5 out of 12 three-pointers, scoring 25 points and 11 rebounds. After this game, the 76ers ranked 11th in the Eastern Conference with a record of 15 wins and 21 losses.
After the game, George was interviewed by reporters and frankly stated that he is tired of playing the five position in defense. George said, "I am used to running, chasing, and fighting through screens in defense. Honestly, I am tired of playing the five position; it's not enough for me. However, head coach Nick Nurse wants to see a style where I use my abilities to block the middle, cut off penetration and passing routes, and match up against big men. But I still prefer to match up against smaller players and wing offensive players."
In summary, George believes he can do more. However, data doesn't lie, and George's performance this season has been mediocre! The 34-year-old George averages 16.5 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 4.6 assists, with a shooting percentage of 41.7% and a three-point percentage of 34.1%. Both his shooting percentage and three-point percentage are the second-worst of his career. Averaging 16.5 points is also the lowest data in nearly 10 years.
What's worse is that George's decline has come earlier than expected! Recently, an anonymous NBA executive accepted an interview with famous reporter Brian Windhorst, saying, "The 76ers may have anticipated that George might have a poor season during this contract period, but they probably thought it would be in the fourth year of the contract, not the first." Looking at the current situation, it really is the first year.
But in fact, George's decline at this age is a normal phenomenon. The reason we feel that this age should continue to maintain high efficiency is largely due to James, who is still averaging over 20 points at the age of 40, creating an illusion.
In my opinion, no matter what, George should not have publicly said such words. Without considering whether it is detrimental to team unity, according to the current situation, the 76ers will not change his role and will continue to let him play it. Embiid's health issues will not disappear either. Therefore, for a long time, George needs to take the lead in winning games, otherwise, even if Embiid returns healthy, they will lose the chance to compete for the playoffs.