Philadelphia 76ers forward Paul George. Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Former Sixer calls out Paul George for trying to be a hero

By Sai Mohan | Last updated Nov 5, 2024 6:11 AM ET

Paul George was understandably rusty in his 76ers debut Monday night, shooting 4-of-14 from the field while committing six turnovers.

Despite his struggles, George had the chance to be a hero in the game's final possession when the Sixers trailed the Suns 118-116. Philadelphia had a full 24-second shot clock to try and equalize with a two or make a go-ahead three. Head coach Nick Nurse refused to call a timeout, allowing George to make a judgment call on the fly.

George dribbled the ball for 21 seconds before attempting a contested 22-foot jumper. He missed the shot.

PAUL GEORGE MISSES AFTER A CLUTCH KD BUCKET. SUNS WIN pic.twitter.com/FsClTLZ57A
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) November 5, 2024

Should George have deferred to Tyrese Maxey, who had the hot hand with 32 points? That is the opinion of former Sixer Patrick Beverley, who called out his former Clippers teammate for not feeding Maxey in the crunch time of Monday's game.

PG my brother. Love him to death. But Maxey gotta have that last shot. I know it’s hierarchy and I respect it, on his bday and a 30 point night @PatBevPod
— Patrick Beverley (@patbev21) November 5, 2024

To George's credit, the nine-time All-Star conceded that he made a poor decision in the final possession. George revealed he thought the Sixers were down by one, not two, propelling him to take a contested mid-range jumper instead of going for a three.

"After watching it, another boneheaded play," George said of his final shot. "In that situation, why not go for the win? I got the matchup I wanted [with Grayson Allen guarding me], I got a good look. It just rimmed in and out. You live with that at the end of the day."

George played all 12 minutes of the fourth quarter, in which he went 0-of-3 from the floor to go with two turnovers.

Maxey, meanwhile, made back-to-back threes at the 7:04 and 6:26 marks to put the Sixers up by three. However, for some strange reason, he did not attempt another field goal for the rest of the fourth quarter.

"Bad evaluation"

Paul George explains his poor decision-making on the final possession of the game. pic.twitter.com/wB0BaIpZvY
— NBC Sports Philadelphia (@NBCSPhilly) November 5, 2024

With Monday's heartbreaking loss, the Sixers (1-5) slipped to 14th in the Eastern Conference standings.

On the bright side, they are expected to return Joel Embiid immediately. The former MVP went through five-on-five scrimmages last weekend but was held out of Monday's game as the NBA investigates a locker-room incident involving him and a reporter. The Sixers have yet to confirm if he will suit up for the away game against the Clippers on Wednesday.

Sai Mohan

A veteran sportswriter based in Portugal, Sai covers the NBA for Yardbarker and a few local news outlets. He had the honor of covering sporting events across four different continents as a newspaper reporter. Some of his all-time favorite athletes include Mike Tyson, Larry Bird, Luís Figo, Ayrton Senna and Steffi Graf.

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