Paul George is on the Philadelphia 76ers. PHOTO USA Today Sports Images Starters are typically playing two or three quarters at most, guys you’ve never heard of are running the offense in crunch time and simply shaking off the rust tends to take precedence over what the scoreboard reads when the clock hits zeros.
It’s safe to say a strong preseason doesn’t mean your team is going to be in the mix for a title.
Still, the past two weeks haven’t been a total waste, as they’ve at least given us some signs of things to come once the regular season rolls around. Here are three that really caught our eye:
Situation with LeBron, Bronny James is way worse than we thought
Jul 6, 2024; San Francisco, CA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Bronny James Jr. (9) controls the ball against Sacramento Kings guard Dane Goodwin (33) during the third quarter at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports What happened to the game we love?
The Los Angeles Lakers selecting Bronny James with the 55th overall pick in this year’s draft was a move everyone saw coming from a mile away. Cool story? Sure. Deserved? Not in the slightest.
But hey, perhaps Bronny James was going to rise to the occasion. Maybe he’d at least be a serviceable back-of-the-bench piece—or show that he could at least become one somewhere down the line.
Nope. Not even close.
In four preseason games, Bronny James is averaging a single point on 12.5 percent shooting from the field while making Thanasis Antetokounmpo look like he could have played for the ’92 Dream Team.
Just because a player like LeBron James is generational doesn’t mean his kid should get a free ticket to play in the NBA. Bronny James is still taking an opportunity away from someone somewhere, and the 60-year-old head at your local YMCA with the broken jumper is probably more deserving of that roster spot based off talent.
76ers aren’t built to last
May 2, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid (21) in action against the New York Knicks during game six of the first round for the 2024 NBA playoffs at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images Bringing in star forward Paul George on a four-year, $212 million deal to complement Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey instantly put Philadelphia in position to truly contend for the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference.
Well, it hasn’t taken long for some troubling trends to develop.
Embiid has expressed that he will “probably never play back-to-backs” for the rest of his career, while George sustained a bone bruise in his left knee during a 104-89 victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Monday.
George isn’t dealing with any structural damage, but the Sixers better pray long and hard that this isn’t the beginning of a string of injuries for the nine-time All-Star. After all, we are talking about a guy who played in no more than 56 games in each of the four seasons ahead of the 2023-24 campaign.
Moses Moody deserves a chance to shine with Warriors
Mar 1, 2024; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Golden State Warriors guard Moses Moody (4) comes down with a rebound as Toronto Raptors forward Kelly Olynyk (41) falls to the court during the first half at Scotiabank Arena. credits: John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports No more Klay Thompson means a new era in the Bay Area.
If Golden State’s depth chart was the neighborhood soccer mom’s minivan, Moody got stuck back in the third row of seats. Brandin Podziemski, Buddy Hield and De’Anthony Melton all figure to take minutes away from him, a true tragedy considering the 22-year-old is averaging a team-high 15.8 points per game for the Warriors during the preseason.
Moody is knocking down 43.3 percent of his triples (with an average of six 3-point attempts per game), a huge reason why Golden State is 5-0.
Give the man a chance. It can’t hurt.
