Paul George carries Sixers to must-have win vs. Charlotte

Paul George matched his Sixers high with 29 points against the Charlotte Hornets, leading Philadelphia to a 110-104 win that they desperately needed.

Here’s what I saw.

The Good

— The book on Paul George is that you will have to live some painfully cold stretches in order to get peak wing play, those moments in the season where it feels like he could throw up any old garbage and have it go in. Philadelphia has been desperate for George to step to the forefront and help lead a comeback push, and perhaps that will begin with this game against a banged-up Hornets team.

George’s shotmaking is special when he has it rolling — despite the fact that he’s still not creating a ton of separation right now, George was banging jumpers in over outstretched Hornets arms throughout the first half. With a defender getting a piece of his leg and George already on a bit of a heater, he dropped in one of the most LOL-worthy shots of the season midway through the second quarter:

Getting the threes to drop opened up some attacking opportunities for George without him ever really getting out of second or third gear as a driver. Rather than trying to go to the rim with force, George used the pressure defense from Charlotte against them, probing into the paint with defenders on his hip before creating the tiniest bit of separation to score at the rim. And George continues to be a useful playmaker for this team, even with the occasional baffling turnover sprinkled in for good measure.

(To be clear, the worst pass of the game came in a must-have possession in crunch time that Charlotte ran the other way with.)

With the Hornets battling valiantly deep into the fourth quarter, it was George who served as Philadelphia’s human run-stopper, hitting some monster jumpers down the stretch to keep padding between the two teams.

— Adem Bona may be an unpolished rookie, but he looks like a better fit for what the Sixers need right now than Andre Drummond. His activity level stands out in a good way, and the discipline issues we expected for a young big early on haven’t really been there on defense. That gives him a chance to play more minutes, get more reps, and hammer out his weaknesses.

One thing that separates him from every other big on the roster is the vertical threat he poses on pick-and-roll opportunities. Bona explodes out of his screens and times his dive to be in an ideal position to go up and finish a lob, or at the very least, keep the sagging big in no man’s land to open an attacking window for the ballhandler. He isn’t always being rewarded for it, but Bona has been ultra-efficient with the drop-offs and lobs around the basket, flashing better hands than he did for a lot of his time at UCLA.

The next two games against Orlando will be a big test, but if he manages to play well in even one out of the next two, there will be some real conversations required to sort out the backup big picture. His athleticism and motor are making the case for more minutes.

— Tyrese Maxey is always going to have to live with some defensive concerns as a result of his size. That’s just life in the NBA, and there’s nothing he can do about that. But I reject the premise that it means he has to be a negative defender in the league, and over the last couple of weeks, he has too.

While Maxey may be drawing dead against some bigger and craftier wings, he still has his speed to weaponize on that end of the floor, and No. 0 has done a much better job of using it recently. That’s mostly because Maxey’s attentiveness has been through the roof, staying locked in on his man while still keeping an eye on what the ballhandler is trying to do. He has been a consistent threat in passing lanes, and the beauty of a Maxey steal is that it can turn into a fast break for the Sixers before the opponent even knows what hit them. Maxey had two steals by halftime against Charlotte, helping Philadelphia pad their early lead by storming down the floor in transition.

On the other end, he was mostly poor on offense in yet another game, coming up empty on far too many offensive possessions in both halves. His shot diet continues to be a bit of a mess — fading runners and tough pull-up threes are littered throughout his performances, with drives all the way to the rim in short supply.

But at least he saved his best for last, coming up with an incredible runner off-glass to put the Sixers in the lead and key free throws to ice the game down the stretch. His playmaking was also better tonight than in many other games this season, with Maxey using Charlotte’s coverage against them to find cutters and shooters around the floor.

The Bad

— There was some not-so-subtle outrage from people like me at Kelly Oubre taking Jared McCain’s spot in the starting lineup beginning with Saturday night’s game in Detroit. It is still worth keeping an eye on both players as we move forward from here, but good on Oubre for seizing the opportunity and shooting the lights out to keep himself in front of the rookie for now.

That said, I was shocked to see how little Jared McCain was used down the stretch of this game. Philadelphia struggled to generate much of anything on offense, and McCain was a bright spot for the Sixers all throughout the second half. He had a brilliant run late in the third quarter, hitting back-to-back threes in transition after a strong first half attacking the basket in space.

For some inexplicable reason, Nurse decided that as the offense went to hell down the stretch, there was no reason to bring in the 20-year-old with 17 points on 10 shots. No idea what game he was watching or why McCain had a ceiling of 21.5 minutes while he was actively cooking on offense, but the coach’s use of McCain was baffling.

— Caleb Martin has been roughly what I have expected him to be on defense: a sturdy, switchable defender who can team up with Paul George and Kelly Oubre to blow plays up in passing lanes. But boy, he has been an absolute mess on the other end thanks to his jumper completely disappearing to open the year. Even for a streaky shooter, this is getting ugly.

Martin has clearly been playing through a shoulder issue this year, and I commend him for giving what he has to a team in desperate need of wins, but I wonder if he’s ultimately doing more harm than good.

— I’m not sure how Kelly Oubre was losing Brandon Miller in crunch time with the Hornets’ young wing absolutely cooking, but that was certainly a choice.

— He’s a Philadelphia legend, but Kyle Lowry should not be getting minutes for this team until further notice. Stick him on the bench with Eric Gordon and Reggie Jackson and they can reminisce about the good ol’ days when the Motorola Razr was the coolest phone in the world.

(To be clear, I am in the same age bracket, so I am allowed to make fun of their age.)

The Ugly

— We no longer have to look at NBA Cup courts for the rest of the season, praise be.