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Paul George Addresses Injury Concern in 76ers-Hornets Matchup

Paul George explained what happened during the first half of Sunday's game against the Hornets.

Justin Grasso

Nov 10, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia 76ers forward Paul George (8) is tended to after an apparent collision during the first quarter against the Charlotte Hornets at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
Nov 10, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia 76ers forward Paul George (8) is tended to after an apparent collision during the first quarter against the Charlotte Hornets at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images / Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
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The last thing the Philadelphia 76ers need is another setback. Through the first nine games of the 2024-2025 NBA season, the Sixers have yet to see their star trio of Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, and Paul George on the floor together.

For Sunday night’s matchup between the Sixers and the Charlotte Hornets, Embiid and Maxey missed the action. Early on in the game, the Sixers dealt with another injury scare with Paul George.

The veteran forward crashed to the floor after getting in the face. The officials stopped the action, and players from both teams walked back to their benches. Andre Drummond, along with members of the Sixers’ medical staff, rushed over to George to check on him.

The situation looked a lot worse than it turned out to be. While George experienced pain in that moment, he managed to stay in the game after getting a breather through a timeout. After the game, George explained what happened, and deteailed how he was feeling.

“Finger right in the eye,” the forward said on Sunday night. “Just kind of knocked the whole vision. I couldn’t see, it was blurry. It kind of hung around for a little bit.”

As expected, George didn’t quite play a full shift against the Hornets. Lately, the All-Star has been on a minute restriction after coming back from a bruised knee.

76ers head coach Nick Nurse confirmed after Sunday’s game that George’s lack of playing time down the stretch in overtime was simply the team sticking to its plan—not because a new setback came about.

George finished Sunday’s game with 15 points, nine assists, three rebounds, and two steals. Although he wasn’t a factor in overtime, the Sixers received a major boost from the rookie Jared McCain. The former first-rounder led his team to the win column as the Sixers defeated the Hornets 107-105.

The Sixers will return to the court on Tuesday night and will play their Atlantic Division rival, the New York Knicks, for the first set of group play in the NBA Cup. The game will mark George's second home game since joining the Sixers over the summer.

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Justin Grasso
JUSTIN GRASSO

Title: Credentialed writer/reporter covering the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated’s FanNation Email: JustinGrasso32@Gmail.com Location: Philadelphia, PA Expertise: Reporting, insight, and analysis on the Sixers and the NBA  Justin Grasso is a credentialed writer and publisher covering the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated’s FanNation.  Grasso got his start in sports media in 2016 with FantasyPros, working the news desk, providing game-by-game player analysis and updates on the Portland Trail Blazers and the Golden State Warriors. By 2017, he joined FanSided’s Philadelphia Eagles site as a staff writer. After spending one season covering the Eagles as a staff writer, Grasso was promoted to become the site’s Co-Editor. For the next two NFL seasons, he covered the Eagles closely before broadening his NFL coverage. For a brief stint, Grasso covered the NFL on a national basis after joining Heavy.com as an NFL news desk writer. In 2019, Grasso joined the 76ers' beat on a part-time basis, stepping into a role with South Jersey’s 97.3 ESPN. Ahead of the 2019-2020 NBA season, he concluded a three-year stint covering the Eagles and joined the Sixers beat full-time. Grasso has covered the 76ers exclusively since then for Sports Illustrated. He is a member of the Pro Basketball Writer’s Association.  Twitter: @JGrasso_ Instagram: @JGrassoNBA

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