The Philadelphia 76ers now have two of the greatest scorers of the generation- Joel Embiid and Paul George. While this duo will be extremely difficult for the opponents to prevent from going on a scoring rampage, it may lead to confusion as to which one of the two gets to take the last shot in a close situation.
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George was first presented with this question by Chet Holmgren during an episode of his podcast. PG dished out a “PR answer”. The two-way star was diplomatic with his response, claiming that the final decision was going to be with Nick Nurse. Whoever got the final shot and whatever the outcome of the same would be, the Sixers would “live or die” with it.
“That’s a Nick Nurse question. I’mma deflect that to Nick Nurse… Whoever Nick Nurse draw it up for, we going to get the best shot… We live and die with whoever takes it,” PG answered.
The panel of Sheed & Tyler reacted to this same response a few weeks later. Bonzi Wells was the first one to give his two cents on the topic and lauded the 34-year-old for the smart reply.
The former 10-year NBA vet believed PG was honest when claiming he wouldn’t be “salty” if he didn’t get to take the last shot because of the star-studded rosters he’s been a part of. Wells also concluded by claiming that he would be happy with either of the three All-Stars–George, Embiid, or Tyrese Maxey–attempting the final shot.
“That’s a good answer… He’s so used to playing with other stars, this is nothing new to him, like, you know what I mean? He went to OKC and played there, you know, played with Kawhi these last few years, so, I mean, I just think with them two and three playing Maxey, that shot is in good hands,” Wells said.
Rasheed Wallace had a simple solution for when this inevitable situation arose. Claiming that it was “simple basketball”, he would let PG take the final shot if the Sixers required a three-pointer. In case of a need for a two-point shot, Wallace would give the ball to Embiid.
“But if I needed three, of course, I’m gonna go with Paul George over him (Embiid)… But if I need a bucket just a regular two to either break the tie, or we down one, I know that all night, they big, couldn’t f**k with Embiid… It’s just simple basketball,” Wallace said.
To be fair, the Sixers have too many options to take the final shot. Apart from Embiid and George, even Maxey has proven to be a great shot-maker in clutch situations.
Nurse will smartly run a play for the player who out of the three has the hottest hand on that night, depending upon the in-game situation.
