It is Feb. 26. The Philadelphia 76ers are 20-37 on the season, Joel Embiid is again out indefinitely due to his left knee condition, and there is little hope, no matter how much one squints, that the season can still be saved.
Despite this, the Sixers, from the front office to the coaching staff to the players — even down to team security, have maintained that they have no plans of heading home before the postseason this year and will do what they must to give themselves the opportunity to make noise in the playoffs.
To that point, on a Monday edition of his podcast, ‘Podcast P,’ Sixers star Paul George had an announcement following the episode. Speaking directly to his audience and his podcast crew and cohosts, George announced that the show would be going on hiatus.
“Before we wrap, fellas, it’s no secret this season is, up to this point, man, it hasn’t been what we envisioned. I know my goal when I first signed with Philadelphia was to bring a championship to these amazing fans here. I still remain positive about that, and that is still the case and where I’m coming from.”
“With that being said, though, I want to let the Podcast P family know that after today’s episode with Dwight [Howard], I plan to take a break from the pod just to focus on getting my body right, getting mentally right, and, you know, help this squad make a push towards our goal to finish the season that’ll give ourselves a chance to be in contentions, to compete for a championship.”
The season has been nothing short of a disaster for both George and the Sixers. Philadelphia’s shortcomings as a team are evident and long documented. Geroge, meanwhile, has dealt with various injuries throughout the year, including two bone bruises in the same knee to begin the year and now a tear in his fifth finger.
George has missed 19 of the Sixers’ 57 games and is scoring his fewest points since the 2014-2015 season when he suffered a traumatic knee injury. He is also shooting the fewest shots from the field, three, and free throw line of his career since that season.
The season has also seen periods of fluid effort levels for George, as has been the case for nearly every Sixer. The wear and tear of a season marred by injury, not just physically but also mentally, cannot be overstated, though it cannot absolve one completely of blame at the same time.
Still, to give credit where credit is due, no one forced George to put his show on hiatus. Perhaps it was suggested; we’ll never know, but the decision ultimately was George’s to make, and he made the right one not only for himself but also for his team.
After George made this announcement, the Sixers went on to be demolished, demoralized, and embarrassed by the Chicago Bulls. However, one game less than 24 hours after the announcement does not constitute its effectiveness. In the coming days, weeks, and even months, it will be seen just what Paul George takes away from this time away from his podcast.
You can watch the full episode of Podcast P, A Wave Original, below:
