Paul George of the “76ers” bitterly complained about playing center because of Joel Embiid’s injury

Paul George’s first season with the Philadelphia 76ers. was bitten by a snaketo say the least. After joining the Los Angeles Clippers as a free agent in the summer, PG-13 has already missed 11 games and could not adapt to their new environment on the court is averaging just 16.5 points per game after 22.6 last season in Los Angeles.

Obviously, that wasn’t the way it was supposed to be when George signed a $211 million contract with Philly this offseason. It’s not entirely his fault, though, as the Sixers are suffering through an extremely brutal roster injury streak and have been without their best player, Joel Embiid, in all but 13 of the 36 games they’ve played. During the former MVP’s absence, George was asked to play small-ball center for short stretches. He gave an honest review of it on Friday night, and was clearly not a fan.

When talking to reporters about guarding opposing centers when Embiid is out, George bluntly complained that he’s “bored” when he has to do it, while acknowledging the advantages it brings defensively.

“It’s different,” George told the assembled media following a particularly tough loss to the New Orleans Pelicans. “I’m used to running, running, chasing, fighting through screens. Frankly, I’m bored. Playing five is not enough for me. But I think with his ability to clog up the middle, help and cut off passing lanes, Nick (Nurse) sees that style as a struggle against big men on the wing.”

Over the course of his career, George was named to four all-defense teams primarily as a tight end guy. You can understand where he is from. Nurse and his 76ers teammates might wish he had done it a little differently.

No matter how boring George is, it looks like the Sixers will need him to continue in that role. Embiid’s health issues persist, and there’s a lot of work to be done to keep Philly out of the postseason picture entirely, even with more than half of the season remaining.