Paul George still a fantasy star; 76ers improve championship odds

After the LA Clippers announced Paul George‘s departure on Sunday night, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski broke the news early Monday morning that the All-Star has agreed to a $212 million, four-year contract with the Philadelphia 76ers. When reports came in that George was going to Philadelphia, the Sixers’ championship price at ESPN BET was cut from 12-1 to 10-1 and their Eastern Conference number moved from 7-1 to 5-1. After Monday’s breaking news, the 76ers title price has been updated to 8-1 and their East odds moved to 4-1.

The Sixers jumped the New York Knicks (+825) for the third-best odds to win it all on the news of the George signing. The Boston Celtics are still the clear favorites at 3-1, followed by the Denver Nuggets (+750). In the Eastern Conference, the 76ers (4-1) now trail only the Celtics (+130), with an edge on the Knicks (+450) and Milwaukee Bucks (7-1).

Fantasy basketball spin

Snellings: The 76ers were able to sign George because the majority of the contracts on last season’s team had expired. As such, they still have several roster spots to fill before we know their full rotation. With that said, we saw last season that the 76ers had enough available shots for six players to score in double figures, even with Joel Embiid averaging almost 35 PPG, Tyrese Maxey averaging more than 25 PPG and Tobias Harris scoring more than 17 PPG on 13.7 FGA.

George averaged only 16.7 FGA on a stacked Clippers squad last season, so his move to the 76ers may not have much detrimental impact on the individual scoring averages of any of the main principals. George is a better passer and finisher than Harris, which could actually have a positive impact on the scoring efficiencies and assist numbers for Embiid and Maxey. And of course, George is strong on the defensive end and has led the NBA in steals.

The bottom line from a fantasy hoops perspective is that George would appear to fit pretty seamlessly into this 76ers squad. He should be able to replicate the lion’s share of his production with the Clippers without detrimental impact to the other core producers of the 76ers. I wouldn’t expect Embiid to average 35 PPG this season, but he should still have the shots to go over 30 PPG. I would still have Embiid as a first-round fantasy hoops pick with top-3 healthy upside, with both George and Maxey as top-25 players that could slide into the second round of fantasy hoops drafts.

Moody The 76ers are built for a deep playoff run this season, and George can absolutely prosper from a fantasy perspective. George averaged 22.6 PPG, 3.5 APG, 5.2 RPG and 1.5 SPG in 33.8 MPG last season, reminding everyone that he’s one of the top two-way perimeter players in the league. He also recorded career-highs in field-goal percentage (47%) and 3-point percentage (41%). His ability to coexist with Kawhi Leonard and James Harden in Los Angeles, thanks to his efficiency, should continue with Embiid and Maxey in Philadelphia. If George stays healthy, fantasy managers should expect top-30 production in the 2024-2025 season.

Betting impact

Snellings: The Knicks’ offseason moves make them a contender in the Eastern Conference, and the Celtics have eyes on a dynasty. Factoring in health, it makes sense for the Celtics to remain the favorite, with the 76ers battling the Knicks for second. But, considering the 76ers’ elevated ceiling and the potential that their redundant stars could potentially help the team maintain health through the marathon season, I see value in them to win both the Eastern Conference (4-1) and the championship (8-1) at this point in the offseason.

Can the 76ers challenge the Celtics?

Snellings: George gives the 76ers a legitimate big three, joining Embiid, the 2022-23 MVP, and Maxey, the 2023-24 Most Improved Player. As a tall, two-way guard that can score at all three levels and defend from shooting guard to power forward, George’s skill set meshes perfectly with his new club. When healthy, Embiid is the most dominant big man in the NBA and Maxey is developing into one of the most dynamic lead guards, but George would be instrumental in allowing the 76ers to match up against the elite wings of the league such as Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.

The key issue for the 76ers moving forward will be health. George played 74 games last season, but that was the first time he had missed fewer than 18 games in a season since 2018-19. Before last season, George had averaged only 47.3 games played in four seasons with the LA Clippers (both 2019-20 and 2020-21 were COVID-shortened seasons). Embiid has never missed fewer than 14 games in a season during his eight-year career, averaging just 54.1 games per season, and he is coming off a campaign where he played only 39 games. Even Maxey has missed at least 12 games in each of the last two seasons and 32 games overall over that stretch.

In 39 regular season games with Embiid on the court last season, the 76ers went 31-8 (79.5 win percentage) with +10.4 point average scoring margin. Those marks were similar to the season-long stats of the champion Celtics, who won 78% of their regular-season games with a +11.4 PPG scoring margin. And that was with Philly having Harris as their third scoring option. George is a significant upgrade on both sides of the ball, giving the 76ers a more dynamic and proven scorer in addition to an all-league level defender.

The 76ers also quietly re-signed Kelly Oubre and added former All-Star and four-time rebound champion Andre Drummond, who gives them a bit of insurance in the middle to take a bit of the pressure off Embiid, while George meshes with Oubre to give the 76ers two two-way wings with the size, skill and athletic ability to legitimately challenge the Celtics’ All-NBA duo.

Bottom line: signing George gives the 76ers the highest ceiling of any team in the NBA, including the Celtics. They would have the perimeter players to match up with anyone, while no other team in the league has a counter to Embiid’s dominance in the interior.

Moody: Yes, the 76ers are legitimate contenders despite being perennial underachievers. Embiid is still in his prime at the league’s most important position. While the 76ers have struggled to build a championship team around Embiid with players like Ben Simmons and Jimmy Butler, this is a step in the right direction.

The skills of George, Embiid and Maxey mesh well together, as each can shoot and handle the ball. Additionally, George and Embiid are excellent defenders. However, the injury history of Embiid and George is a concern. The good news is that Maxey is the youngest and healthiest of this trio, and he showed everyone last season he can carry the load when needed. Maxey averaged 26.3 PPG, 5.6 APG, 3.7 RPG, and 1.1 SPG in 34 games without Embiid.

George is coming off an impressive stretch with the Clippers, averaging 23.0 PPG, 4.5 APG, 6.0 RPG, and 1.5 SPG in 263 regular-season games. Last season, George played 76 games, his most since 2018-2019.

He’s also one of the more efficient players in the league, averaging 0.40 points per touch last season. That ranked third among more than 60 players to record at least 4,000 touches. Embiid (0.47) ranked first, followed by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (0.42).

And last but not least, George has 2,416 career playoff points, the most among active players without an NBA Finals appearance. If 76ers head coach Nick Nurse and his staff properly manage Embiid and George’s minutes throughout the regular season and have their big three healthy entering the postseason, Philadelphia can challenge the Celtics, Knicks, Indiana Pacers and Bucks for dominance in the East.