What Paul George Is Doing Behind the Scenes During His Suspension

PHILADELPHIA — Look across the gym at the Sixers' practice facility in Camden and you might see Paul George running from one baseline to the other with a team staffer.

He's donning a sleeve on his shooting arm and a compression sleeve on his left knee. He may only be a little more than halfway through his 25-game suspension, but this is not a vacation for the veteran forward.

George is involved in everything the Sixers do—practices, shootarounds, film sessions, individual workouts, the whole shebang—up until game day.

The Sixers want George to stay involved. It's the very least he can do.

The Sixers can regurgitate their 'next man up' cliché day in and day out. They do not have the personnel to come close to making up for George's absence.

That does not mean George can't help inch the gap a bit narrower with his wisdom.

"Trying to get some of his veteran leadership. Even though he's not getting on the court and doing stuff, he can still help these guys, which he's doing a decent job of. But just really want to keep him as sharp, pushing him pretty hard physically, to be as sharp as possible when he returns," Nick Nurse told reporters ahead of Tuesday's game against the San Antonio Spurs.

What exactly does that veteran leadership look like? How does George use his cachet when he can't play?

"PG, I want you to jump in there on those."

No one can blame Nurse if the days run together in his head. About a week ago, he thinks, there was a film session following a long discussion between Nurse and George.

The focus was guarding the rim—some things they wanted to do better, and how that would look.

"There were about three or four clips in a row that showed really bad, then really great, then really bad, then really great. After the film session, I said, 'PG, I want you to jump in there on those. In the film session, jump in there because you and I were just talking about this, like, two days ago. You have some insight there. I know you're not playing, but get involved and get out there," Nurse said.

Nurse sees how George can help in the minutiae. But he also pays attention to the tutelage George imparts behind closed doors.

He aids his teammates in individual workouts on offensive skills. "Just little things that he shows them. Like, he's really good at getting open and he's really good at creating a little hesitation and space on his shot. I see him working with guys on that," Nurse explained.

Just because George can't play in games does not mean he doesn't have a role leading into games. The Sixers have used him on the scout team to simulate the opposition as they prepare for games. It keeps the Sixers honest on both ends of the floor.

On Saturday morning, as the Sixers clocked in for practice, George and Nurse had a meeting. It was a double-duty day for George, who was teaching youngsters and making life difficult for his teammates as a tough customer on the scout team.

The message?

Don't shy away.

"'Listen, you got to continue to teach these guys, especially on the defensive end. Like, I know you're seeing things. I can see you seeing them. Continue to kind of coach now while you're out.' But he's been really solid," Nurse said.

In about three weeks, George will be able to turn that practice jersey inside out, displaying the blue that the starters wear.