Around the Beat: George's Return, a 38-Point Loss, and an…

By the 76ers Nightly Desk · Sunday, October 11

The outlets covering this team spent the week on Paul George's reunion with his old teammates and the 38-point rout that followed, while one site floated a roster crisis without saying which one. The injury list backs up the vague part more than the rest: Hukporti's season is over, and two other cases have sat unresolved for weeks.

76ers Nightly artwork — Illustration by Hoops Nightly.

What was Paul George's return against his old team like?

The Philadelphia Inquirer's Gina Mizell reported George described a "brotherhood" with his former teammates that survives the trade. Philadelphia sent him to Boston this summer for Jaylen Brown, two first-round picks and two second-round picks, the return the front office wanted for its new wing. In his preseason debut against his old team, George finished with 13 points, five steals and a plus-19 in 25 minutes, numbers that say the breakup didn't cost him his game.

Why did the Sixers lose by 38 in Boston?

Philadelphia Inquirer's Gina Mizell reported Philadelphia sat LeBron James, Joel Embiid and Jaylen Brown, plus Caldwell-Pope, on top of already-injured Bona, Barlow, Anfernee Simons and Ariel Hukporti. Liberty Ballers called it a "shorthanded" team "beat up by Celtics' regulars," and the final margin backs that up: a 45-point hole at the worst, VJ Edgecombe's 19 points the only real highlight.

What's the 'roster crisis' Sixer Sense says the 76ers might need a risky fix for?

The Sixer Sense's Nicolas Kyle Pring wrote the 76ers may have to accept a "risky solution to their newest roster crisis," without saying which one. The likeliest candidates: Hukporti out for the year with a right Achilles issue, and Bona and Fall still unresolved since September 17 and October 1. None has a timeline, and no replacement has arrived since Lowry, Beauchamp and Martin left on September 21.

Should Sixers fans worry about how Nurse is managing Embiid's minutes?

The Sixer Sense ran two pieces on it — Nathan Doyle's that Embiid's cautious approach "should concern" the team if it continues, and Nicolas Kyle Pring's on the extra scrutiny he's drawing. The pattern backs them up: Nurse rested Embiid on October 5, cleared him for the Nets game on October 8, then sat him again on October 10 in Boston. Three preseason games, two of them without him.

The verdictNone of this is new information so much as the same open wounds getting new headlines. George's reunion was always going to be a story; the roster holes were always going to be the real one.

Did Paul George play against the 76ers in the preseason loss to Boston?

Yes. He finished with 13 points, five steals and a plus-19 in 25 minutes in his Celtics preseason debut against his former team.

Why did the Sixers rest three starters against the Celtics?

The Philadelphia Inquirer reported Embiid, LeBron James and Jaylen Brown were all held out for rest, along with Caldwell-Pope and the already-injured Bona, Barlow, Simons and Hukporti.