Paul George has been the most disappointing part of a bad 76ers season

Prince J. Grimes Paste BN

Welcome to Layup Lines, For the Win's basketball newsletter. Have feedback for the Layup Lines Crew? Leave your questions, comments and concerns through this brief reader survey. Now, here's Prince J. Grimes.

With a 20-37 record going into Wednesday night’s game against the New York Knicks, the Philadelphia 76ers are closer to last place in the Eastern Conference than they are to a top-six seed. Though the postseason isn't completely out of reach (hello, play-in tournament), their season is effectively over. Joel Embiid’s health is taking the bulk of blame for that.

It's fair to wonder if it should.

While it’s true the 76ers rely a great deal on Embiid -- he's a league MVP after all -- they shouldn’t be this bad without him. They definitely shouldn’t be 8-11 in games he’s played, regardless of if he's 100% or not. For them to have a better shot at drafting Cooper Flagg than winning a championship is an indictment of the rest of the roster. And no single player has been more disappointing than Paul George.

It’s easy to forget from how he's played this year, but George is a nine-time All-Star and six-time All-NBA selection. He’s been the No. 1 option on playoff teams. When Embiid is out, he’s supposed to be good enough to pick up the slack. He had to do it in LA when Kawhi Leonard missed time -- and not once during his stint with the Clippers were they ever this bad. That’s exactly what emboldened George to make certain contract demands as a free agent last summer. Sometimes he had to be the top dog. When the Clippers failed to capitulate, he signed a four-year max contract with the Sixers.

Now, in the first year of that deal, when the Sixers need him to be more Batman than Robin, the 34-year-old is pulling a disappearing act.

To be fair, George has dealt with injuries of his own. But when he has played, the George that Philadelphia thought it was getting has been nowhere to be found. His 16.2 points per game this season are the lowest of his career since his second season in 2011-12. His 14.9 player efficiency rating is the lowest since his rookie year. His win shares per 48 minutes, box plus/minus and value over replacement player numbers are all the lowest of his career.

That's the biggest disappointment of the season for Philadelphia. Not Embiid.

Would the 76ers have preferred the season go as planned, with a trio of Embiid, George and Tyrese Maxey leading the way to what was supposed to be a championship-contending season? Sure. But in the always likely scenario of an ailment popping up for Embiid, they needed to be able to rely on George and Maxey to carry a larger load. Get Embiid to the playoffs as healthy as possible. We all know this story very well.

Maxey has held up his end of the deal. Though he could always be better, he’s averaging a career-high 27 points, and more importantly, he’s been available. George, though, is coming up small, and it’s going to be the reason Philly ends up in the draft lottery instead of the playoffs.

A GOAT calls it quits

Diana Taurasi announced her retirement Tuesday in an exclusive interview with Time, stepping away from the game as one of the most accomplished basketball players of all-time.

Here is a look at just a few of Taurasi's accomplishments over her time with the Phoenix Mercury, UConn and Team USA:

WNBA all-time leading scorer
3-time WNBA champion
2-time WNBA Finals MVP
2009 WNBA MVP
2004 WNBA Rookie of the Year
6-time Olympic gold medalist
3-time NCAA champion
2-time NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player

A CHAMPION: Remembering Taurasi's 3 WNBA titles

The list could go on a lot longer, but you get the point. Taurasi is one of the greatest of all time. But it's not just what Taurasi did as a hooper why she'll be missed. Taurasi was a character too, and we'll never see a personality quite like her again.

FTW's Meghan Hall rounded up some of best moments of Taurasi being Taurasi, and it is well worth your time.

Shootaround

Facebook Twitter Email