Paul George Suspended 25 Games: Fantasy Basketball Fallout for George and the 76ers
How to handle George in fantasy leagues and which Sixers might gain value in his absence.
Along with a big trade on Saturday, more notable NBA news dropped too. Philadelphia's Paul George was suspended 25 games for violating the Anti-Drug Program.
Let's break down what the suspension means for George and the 76ers.
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George's Stats
George isn't the player he once was, but he's still a good player for the 76ers.
Over 27 games (all starts), George is averaging 16 points, 5.1 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 1.5 steals and 0.5 blocks over 30.5 minutes a night. He's shooting 42.4% overall and 38.2% from 3-point land.
He's scored in double figures in all but four games. George has been over 20 points four times and scored 30+ points in two contests.
George has pulled down five or more rebounds in 15 games, and reached 10 boards once. He has five or more assists in 10 contests.
He has a steal in all but six games and a block in nine contests.
How to Approach George
George could return on March 25. The 76ers have nine games after that.
Knowing that, George could be a drop candidate in fantasy leagues. He was rostered in nearly 100% of leagues, and dropped way down to 73% today. I would expect George to be dropped in a bunch more leagues before he's back on the court.
In deeper leagues, I'd try not to drop George, but if you need that roster spot (and cannot stash him in an IR spot), you might need to eventually.
George is droppable in standard leagues, unless you want to stash him in an IR spot. He's not really worth keeping at this point of his career.
By the time he returns, it will be the fantasy playoffs for most leagues. That makes it not worth holding him in a lot of leagues.
He'll be addable when he returns, and that goes for all leagues. Be mindful of that return date, and consider adding him a week or so before his return from the suspension.
Outlook for the 76ers
With George out of the mix, Tyrese Maxey, VJ Edgecombe, Kelly Oubre Jr., Dominick Barlow and Joel Embiid are the projected starters when the team is fully healthy.
Oubre and/or Barlow are the ones who will benefit the most from George's absence in the starting lineup. Those are the forwards.
Everyone in the starting lineup will get a slight fantasy bump with George out - someone has to fill in the void after all.
Quentin Grimes, Andre Drummond, Jared McCain, Adem Bona, Trendon Watford, Justin Edwards and Jabari Walker are the other Sixers who have played a decent role for the team this season.
Along with Oubre and Barlow, Edwards, Oubre, Walker and Watford are the other forwards who will directly see some more playing time and get a little uptick in production without George around.
Really though, it will take a team effort to replace a player like George. Just looking at his minutes per game, it should show that there will be extra minutes and production available.
Top Pickups
The top Sixers on the waiver wire list are Barlow, Oubre and Grimes.
Barlow is up 4.46% today, bringing his overall mark to 14.94%. He's averaging 7.9 points, 4.8 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 0.9 steals and 0.6 blocks over 23.7 minutes a night. Barlow has started 31 of the team's 38 games and has shot 55.7% overall and 25.9% from deep.
Oubre has been added in 3.88% of leagues, and he now sits at 76.55% overall. He's averaging 14.2 points, 4.7 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 1.1 steals over 0.7 blocks over 32 minutes. Oubre has started 21 of the team's 26 games so far.
Grimes is up 2.3% and is owned in 53.1% of leagues overall. He's started seven of the 44 games he's played in, averaging 13.1 points, 3.8 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 1 steals and 0.4 blocks over 30.2 minutes. Grimes is shooting 43.3% overall and he's 34.3% from 3-point land.
I like the idea of adding those three players. Barlow is obviously more of a deep-league pickup right now, while Oubre is a standard league add. Grimes is probably still available in some deeper leagues, but he's close to being just a standard league pickup option.
Really, the best thing to do would be to watch the 76ers' game logs over the next few games to see who is stepping up in George's absence.
The Sixers are fighting for a playoff spot, so it wouldn't shock me if the team made a transaction or two here soon to offset losing George. We'll keep you posted if anything else happens.
