You know the Sixers are traumatized by their bad luck for Nick Nurse to be this much of a stickler. Along with Joel Embiid, the Philadelphia 76ers were sorely missing Paul George due to a knee injury, too. After months of rehabbing, PG made his season debut for 2025-26. And how? He just had to prove that the time off nowhere near slowed him down. All the cynicism and rumors that he needed to be the player the Sixers cut were shut down. He made the Bucks sweat. And then… Nick Nurse saw the time.

After the Sixers beat the Clippers on his season debut on Monday, Paul George suited up tonight against the Milwaukee Bucks. They’re missing Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Paul George — to everyone’s absolute frustration — is on a minutes restriction. It’s understandable and necessary for his health. Can’t overwork a barely healed knee. But he has a way of making us forget he was beaten up.

In the first two minutes of the game, every one of the Sixers’ possessions was a PG layup and three 3-pointers. That was 11 points just from him at the start of the game. In a team that was being run by Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe, PG fit right in like he was never gone.

He was on fire, the lead was close, and Nurse chose the 25th minute to pull him out. George had 21 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists, with clearly enough steam to extend that stat. Nurse pulled him out of the game when the Bucks were catching up and subbed Justin Edwards in. Now, fans are ripping their hair out and crying.

No pleasing Sixers fans, even with Paul George’s return

Every entity within the 76ers organization that enforced Paul George’s minutes restriction to the T had only one salvation. The Sixers beat the Bucks 114-123 despite how close it was before PG was taken off the floor. Because if the outcome was different, they’d be in a lot of trouble with fans.

The rage boiled over before the game ended, exactly when George went back to the bench. The confusion of, “Why is Paul George not in the game right now ?” turned into pleas of, “can paul george not play an extra 2 minutes?” and then escalated into, “Pretty sure Paul George won’t die if you give him an extra 15 seconds.”

This wasn’t the case on Monday, when he had 9 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 blocks in 21 minutes, shooting only 2-of-9 from the field against the Clippers. After sitting out the game against the Raptors, it’s clearer now that PG is finding the groove.

A comment like, “So Paul George has 21 points on 7-12 shooting but Nick Nurse decides to keep him on the bench this coach is a 🤡 man,” might sound harsh towards PG, too, considering the team is prioritizing his health over all else. And getting him sidelined for aggravating his injury is the last thing anyone wants.

However, with hindsight being 20-20 and because the Sixers didn’t lose (or the rage of PG’s phenomenal performance being useless would’ve blinded fans), Sixers nation feels that the team isn’t smart about the 35-year-old’s minutes restriction.

Another fan chimed in with, “Dawg I don’t get it Pg played 25 mins, why not keep him out at the 20 min mark so he can help the sixers for the last 5 mins of the game to hit is 25 min restriction mark 🤷🏾‍♂️ now sixers finna lose cause no one else is a threat on the court beside Maxey.” 

Kyle Kuzma’s inconsistency beyond the arc and the Bucks having Myles Turner on the perimeter necessitate Paul George as a closer on a regular day. His versatility on both ends of the floor makes him a strategic choice. So fans couldn’t understand why he couldn’t be paced out with enough rest during the game instead of being played at a stretch.

Some even think PG needs to be more vocal about his minutes, directly addressing him. “Gimme a f—–g break with the PG minutes restriction. You can’t play 3 more minutes?”

Fans are waiting for the day Paul George won’t have a minutes restriction. The 76ers are going to look like real underdogs then.