A phenomenal debut! Hello, Paul George! Stirring up the Eastern NBA playoffs.

Treating the regular season like an All-Star game?

Philadelphia scored a whopping 157 points at home, while the Bulls also racked up 137 points.

Both teams played with virtually no defense, resulting in a pure shootout.

The 157 points tied Philadelphia's highest single-game score this season, previously achieved by Denver's 157-103 blowout against Portland.

Currently, Philadelphia holds a record of 40 wins and 33 losses, ranking seventh in the East, trailing the sixth-place Raptors by half a win.

Philadelphia has only nine regular-season games left, facing opponents such as the Hornets, Heat, Wizards, Timberwolves, Pistons, Spurs, Rockets, Pacers, and Bucks.

Wait, there's a figure both unfamiliar and familiar.

It turns out to be the return of General George after his suspension. Against the Bulls, he started and played about 26 minutes, shooting 12 out of 22, including 6 out of 13 from three-point range, contributing 28 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, and 4 steals, delivering strong performance on both offense and defense.

On February 1st this year Beijing time, the NBA officially announced that Paul George was suspended for 25 games due to violating the league's anti-drug policy. George recently responded: "I won't disclose why I was suspended; it's more of a private matter. I apologize to everyone affected by this suspension."

George, born on May 2, 1990, is nearly 36 years old. In the summer of 2024, he signed a four-year, $212 million max contract with Philadelphia. However, since then, his physical and competitive condition has sharply declined. In the 2024-25 season, he played 41 games averaging 16.2 points, 5.3 rebounds, 4.3 assists, and 1.8 steals, with shooting percentages of 43% and 35.8%. This season so far, he has played 28 games averaging 16.4 points, 5.2 rebounds, 3.7 assists, and 1.6 steals, with shooting percentages of 42.8% and 38.7%.

Clearly, George's current performance no longer qualifies him as an All-Star player and doesn't match his $50+ million annual salary. He has become one of the league's representatives of high salary but low productivity, causing Philadelphia's management to face considerable criticism. Nevertheless, he remains a decent starting-level forward.

If Philadelphia's fully healthy lineup—Maxey, Echim, George, and Embiid—all play together, they could potentially influence the Eastern playoff landscape and might even emerge as a surprising dark horse.