The Philadelphia 76ers find themselves in a complicated position heading into Saturday night’s game against the New Orleans Pelicans. With Paul George being penalized for violating the NBA’s Anti-Drug Program, the 76ers are expected to see the superstar suspended for 25 games.
For obvious reasons, this has a significant impact on the 76ers’ rotation, which has featured Paul George as a starter for over half the season. Facing the need to make adjustments, 76ers head coach Nick Nurse shed light on how the team would have to adapt to George’s absence during his pre-game press conference.
“If you want to kind of divide up the things Paul does, one of the things he does is he scores a bit,” Nurse shared. “The shot’s there. Somebody’s got to fill in and take those shots. I would imagine Kelly’s [Oubre Jr.] kind of played that role for us a lot already. I would imagine a good portion of those shots will shift back over to him or to him, however you want to put it. But it puts a number of guys in play here.”
“A bunch of guys are going to figure out who’s going to filter where, and it’s probably going to be like it always is – who are we playing? What do the matchups look like? Who’s playing well at the time? What combinations look good together?”
Nurse essentially emphasized that the 76ers would have to embrace the “next-man up” mindset, highlighting that players such as Kelly Oubre Jr., Dominick Barlow, Jared McCain, and Jabari Walker, among many others, would earn more minutes in the rotation to make up for Paul George’s absence.
How Will Paul George’s Suspension Affect The 76ers?
From a performance standpoint, Paul George’s suspension could have a major impact on Philadelphia’s output. Although George isn’t as productive as he used to be, the 76ers’ swingman is still averaging 16.0 points, 5.1 rebounds, 3.7 assists, and 1.5 steals per game.
Given that he established himself as a key presence on both ends of the floor for Philadelphia, the 76ers will demand more from their role players. In this regard, as Nurse mentioned, the team may rely on a player like Kelly Oubre Jr., who is averaging 14.0 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 1.2 steals per game this season.
The current circumstances also have considerable implications for the team’s salary cap situation. Since George was suspended by the NBA, Philadelphia is likely to gain significant luxury tax relief.
Recent reports indicated that the 76ers would be open to making some moves before the deadline to offload some salary and get below the first apron. With the tax relief gained from George’s suspension, Philadelphia will be able to maintain its roster while also having the flexibility to convert Dominick Barlow and Jabari Walker at an earlier date, according to NBA salary cap analyst Yossi Gozlan.
Philadelphia 76ers superstar Joel Embiid recently called out the front office’s habit of breaking up the roster to duck the luxury tax. In a surprising turn of events, Paul George’s suspension will give the franchise the flexibility it needs to keep things together.
This could be largely positive, since the 76ers currently place sixth in the East with a 26-21 record. With the potential to secure a playoff berth, Philadelphia will hope to make the most of every opportunity it gains this season.
