A frustrating first for Paul George at the Wells Fargo Center

It looks like nothing will be easy for the Sixers this season. While we imagined Phillly as an outsider to the Celtics in the East, Nick Nurse's troops are having a difficult start to the year, notably with injuries to the Maxey-Embiid axis which are very costly and an accounting to say the least delicate (2v-7d).

Sunday evening, for its season premiere at the Wells Fargo Center, its new home, on the occasion of the Hornets' reception, Paul George (15 points at 6/18 shooting, 9 assists) somewhat symbolized all his struggles in a single match. From the first quarter, there was notably this unfortunate blow addressed by Tidjane Salaüntrying to intercept a ball, which left PG on the ground for many minutes. The entire assembly held their breath, until the veteran, who was in fact hit in the eye, finally got up.

“It completely destroyed my vision. I couldn't see anymore, it was blurry, and it lasted for a while.”, did he slip after the match.

Back after having applied a little miracle cream around the eye to restore his vision, he then demonstrated that he still had something under his belt, by finding his way back to the circle and proving himself valuable on the last pass. , developing a great relationship with Guerschon Yabusele. Unfortunately for him, the fourth quarter was more difficult since he gave up a sad 0/5 shooting and Charlotte took the opportunity to come back at high speed and equalize at 97-97.

Private Dessert by Nick Nurse

Paul George then inherited the last ball but found himself taking a damaging shot against a Cody Martin on his heels, sending the two teams into overtime…

“It was another difficult situation, where I had the chance to run and score quickly. But I tried to play the last possession, and it put me in a bit of a difficult situation. I wanted to go straight for it, but on the other hand, I didn't want to take a shot that could give them enough time to come back and score. So I tried to get the last shot. It's just a matter of repetition to be more comfortable in these situations, and to do the right thing.”he added.

The evening could have turned into a nightmare if the Hornets had won in overtime after being up to 16 points behind at the start of the fourth quarter. Especially since Nick Nurse took a big risk by leaving Paul George, still under minutes restriction, on the bench for the five additional minutes. A wise choice, which can also be explained in view of PG's complicated last quarter, and which ultimately paid off, Philadelphia winning 107-105 at the end of the suspense.

Here again, the moment was difficult to manage for the former Clippers winger even if all is well that ends well.

“I was completely frustrated. I mean, just the way the match was going. You know, I wanted to be on the pitch with the guys, with the determination to try to win the match, especially being at home. You want to be on the safe side… Luckily the guys saved me. Jared McCain played like he was already in his fifth year in the NBA. He’s confident, but it was really a great collective effort.”