“Super beneficial,” said Paul George. “It’s a holiday that we’ll be spending time together with New Year’s coming up, and then a day right after Christmas. So, it’ll be great. Great to get the guys together, spend some quality time away from the court, but you do build with long road trips.”
One has to believe that the players have plans for one another for the holidays as they look to hang out, get to know each other more, and continue to find grow that all important chemistry that every team needs.
“You do build camaraderie,” George explained. “You do build relationships, stronger bonds. So, it’d be a good test. We play some really good teams, and so it’ll for sure be a test for us.”
The Sixers will certainly be playing some tough teams. The Bulls have come down to earth, but they have won four in a row entering Friday’s contest and Philadelphia saw a 24-point lead slip away in a Nov. 4 loss to the Bulls. They will then have to face the defending champion Thunder before heading to Memphis, Dallas, and finishing in New York.
“We’re playing great basketball despite this loss,” George added after the loss to the Brooklyn Nets. “I think we’ve won the last six out of seven, or something like that, five out of six. So we’re playing pretty good basketball. One of those nights we were a little flat, and we’ll pick up the pieces, and keep it moving.”
It’s still early in the season so the Sixers are still looking to find themselves, but one has to wonder if this 5-game trip could be a defining moment for them. They really have one really fantastic win and that was over the Knicks on Dec. 19, but that’s really it. One has to wonder if that’s how George and Co. view this trip.
“It’s still early,” he added. “As far as defining us, it’s still early. Again, we’re playing good basketball. Our record doesn’t indicate how well and challenging it’s been. We haven’t had a full roster at any point, I think, this season so far.”
George is right about the roster never being at full strength. George and Joel Embiid have been in and out of the lineup while Kelly Oubre Jr. and Trendon Watford have missed a slew of games due to their respective injuries. Tyrese Maxey battled an illness while VJ Edgecombe and others are sick at the moment. It will be interesting to see how Philadelphia handles everything when it gets fully healthy.
“Whether I’ve been down to start the season,” George finished. “Myself, TWatt, I come back, Kelly goes down, Joel’s been injured. Tyrese been sick. So, we really haven’t had a full roster. So, it’s hard to tell what we are, and who we could be.”
