When the Sixers acquired Paul George last summer, everyone expected them to become immediate title contenders. But the superstar’s stay in Philly so far has been rather underwhelming. It’s because he has frequently been out of the lineup because of injury concerns. And that is the case, once again, for tonight’s Lakers clash as a worrying update emerges about PG’s health.

Yes, he was not available to suit up tonight. Turns out, George underwent an MRI and ultrasound, which revealed an injury to the extensor tendon on his left pinky finger. Well, he suffered the finger injury during Saturday’s Bulls encounter and was forced to leave the game midway through the second quarter. The forward played only thirteen minutes and finished with nine points. And his return to play will be determined in the coming days.

Obviously, this is a massive blow to the team because Paul George has been in decent form when healthy, averaging 17.1 points and nearly six rebounds. WHEN HEALTHY becomes the key term, however. Apart from the finger injury, he has also been dealing with lingering groin and ankle issues for the majority of the season. That’s why speculations have begun about Daryl Morey looking for trade options before the February deadline to make up for these injury woes.

However, Paul George believes the current roster is good enough to get the job done, “You can’t really say that we need extra people here. I think we got enough. Obviously, they’ll make decisions that they think we need, but I think you ask everybody in this locker room, they’ll say the same.”

Well, PG made this statement after the Sixers beat the top-seeded Cavs on Friday. So, his confidence was sky-high. But it cannot be denied that the Philly franchise ranks 11th in the East and far from playoff contention. Of course, their true potential cannot be determined until the entire roster is healthy.

Paul George claims Sixers are playing “Decent Basketball” amid trade buzz

Even if Morey decides to make a trade, he might not get the desired result until Joel Embiid is healthy. Yes, the former MVP has been out with lingering knee issues. And without him, the Sixers are nowhere close to being legitimate contenders.

And PG believes the world has not seen this team’s ceiling yet, “To be honest, we don’t know what we look like because we haven’t been healthy… we might have enough in here already.”

When their Big Three played together, the Sixers looked dominant. And even without them, Paul George believes the squad has done a solid job. He said, “To be honest, even games that I was out, they took a couple teams to the wire. So, we’ve been playing fairly decent basketball. Again, it just comes down to not being available when we need guys.”

Morey should be patient and wait for his superstars to get healthy. In that case, he could see the team’s true potential. Until then, the team should put their trade plans on hold because a rushed decision might hurt the team even more. Do you agree?