Philadelphia 76ers forward Paul George, who hasn’t played since March 4, could potentially have surgery after consulting with doctors this week about his knee and groin, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported Thursday. He is expected to make a decision early next week, and he is “likely” done for the season, per ESPN.
George has missed the Sixers’ last four games with left groin soreness. When he was last on the court, he was playing through pain with a splint on his left pinky finger — he missed five games after injuring the extensor tendon in that finger on Jan. 25 and, according to ESPN, needed painkillers before each of the five games in which he appeared leading up to the All-Star break.
George hyperextended his left knee in the preseason, delaying his regular-season debut until the Sixers’ sixth game. He hyperextended his left knee again on Nov. 20, his first appearance alongside Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey.
Paul George sums up 76ers’ problems, says team doesn’t ‘have the habits’ of playoff contender
James Herbert
Embiid only played in 19 of Philadelphia’s games this season before the team announced on Feb. 28 that, after consulting with specialists about his injured left knee, he would “miss the remainder of the season to focus on treatment and rehabilitation.” Maxey has played in 52 games, but is currently sidelined with a lower back sprain and a finger sprain; like George, he hasn’t played since March 4.
The Sixers are 22-43 on the season and have lost 16 of their last 19 games. They are tied with the Brooklyn Nets for the league’s fifth-worst record. If they finish the season fifth in the “tank standings,” they will have a 63.9% chance of keeping their top-six-protected first-round pick; if they finish sixth, they’ll have a 45.8% chance of keeping it.
The initial version of ESPN’s story included the following sentence: “Multiple sources told ESPN the NBA has looked into the 76ers’ recent absences, particularly over the past week with George and Tyrese Maxey (back) sitting out games.” While this has since been removed from the story, such an action from the league would be expected under its Player Participation Policy (PPP) — when a star player such as George or Maxey misses a nationally televised game or there are multiple stars absent from the same game, an automatic league investigation is triggered. On Wednesday, the NBA fined the Utah Jazz $10,000 for violating the PPP by not making forward Lauri Markkanen available in multiple recent games.
George, who turns 35 in May, signed a four-year max contract with the Sixers last summer. If his first season with the team is over, he will finish it, having played in 41 games, averaging 16.2 points, 5.3 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 1.8 steals in 32.5 minutes.
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