PHI 139, MIL 122: George Drops 32 in PHI Win
Sarah Kowalski
Orthopedic Nurse ยท Milwaukee Bucks fan
Paul George Went Absolutely Nuclear, But Don't Let It Overshadow Philly's Real Problem
Look, I'm gonna lead with the obvious: Paul George just had one of those nights where he looked like an All-NBA player again. 32 points on 11-21 shooting with 9 threes in 32 minutes? That's not a game, that's a clinic. He crushed his season average by 16.6 points and finished with 50.5 Yahoo FP. If you had him on your bench, you're still mad about it. If you had him in your lineup, you won the night.
But here's the thing nobody's talking about: the 76ers won this game 139-122 against Milwaukee, and it felt way less convincing than the scoreline suggests. The Bucks' roster construction was a absolute mess on the court tonight, and Philly won a shootout against a team that couldn't get out of its own way. That's not a blueprint for the playoffs.
| Player | ESPN FP | Yahoo FP | Tonight | Season Avg | +/- Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paul George | 62.0 | 50.5 | 32/5/5 | 15.4/5.3/3.6 | +16.6 |
| Joel Embiid | 47.0 | 48.3 | 29/9/5 | 25.1/7.4/3.6 | +3.9 |
| Myles Turner | 56.0 | 47.3 | 31/4/3 | 12.4/5.4/1.6 | +18.6 |
| Ryan Rollins | 50.0 | 45.6 | 24/8/4 | 16.1/4.5/5.4 | +7.9 |
| Bobby Portis | 43.0 | 44.4 | 17/12/8 | 13.1/6.5/1.5 | +3.9 |
| Kyle Kuzma | 46.0 | 42.6 | 17/8/8 | 12.5/4.6/2.2 | +4.5 |
| VJ Edgecombe | 47.0 | 40.1 | 12/8/7 | 15.4/5.3/4.1 | -3.4 |
| Tyrese Maxey | 42.0 | 38.1 | 22/3/9 | 29.4/4.2/6.8 | -7.4 |
| Jared McCain | 33.0 | 22.7 | 17/1/3 | 6.4/2.2/1.6 | +10.6 |
| Adem Bona | 21.0 | 21.6 | 6/8/0 | 4.0/3.8/0.3 | +2.0 |
The Bucks Situation is Honestly Concerning
I'm not gonna sugarcoat this. Milwaukee showed up tonight without Giannis Antetokounmpo and Kevin Porter Jr., and the team basically went "well, let's just have everyone score 20 points and hope for the best." That's not a winning strategy.
Myles Turner turned into a bucket getter, dropping 31 points on 10-16 shooting with 4 threes. That's +18.6 versus his season average. Don't get attached to that number. Turner averages 12.4 PPG for a reason, and tonight he got hot against a Sixers defense that was too busy watching Paul George put on a show to care about interior D. This was a schedule loss masquerading as a dominant individual performance.
Ryan Rollins actually had a solid all-around game: 24 points, 8 boards, 4 assists in 38 minutes. He was +7.9 from his season average and played major minutes. In a game where Milwaukee was clearly short-handed, Rollins looked capable of handling a bigger role. That's worth noting if Giannis is dealing with anything lingering.
Bobby Portis put up 17/12/8 and went +5.5 on the boards versus his average. He was busy, which tracks for a team missing its primary scorers. But 35 minutes with those numbers tells you Milwaukee was leaning on role guys way more than they'd like.
Philly's Got Issues Beyond Paul George's Hot Night
Joel Embiid had a fine game, 29/9/5 with 6 free throws made on limited volume (11-24 FG). He was only +3.9 from his season average, which means he basically played a normal Embiid game. He didn't need to carry the team because George was doing it. That's the problem for Philly down the line: they can't count on George to go 9-for-9 from three every night.
Tyrese Maxey absolutely underperformed. 22 points, 3 rebounds, 9 assists sounds okay on the surface, but he was -7.4 from his season average and looked like he was trying to facilitate instead of attack. Nine assists is solid, but he's a guard who should be getting his own buckets first. The Sixers won this one despite Maxey having a step-back night.
VJ Edgecombe came off the bench and was quiet-ish, finishing at 40.1 Yahoo FP. He wasn't bad (-3.4 from average), just unspectacular when George and Embiid were cooking.
The Waiver Takeaway
Cole Anthony picked up +0.1% ownership after this game, and honestly, I get it. He put up 10 points in 14 minutes off the bench, and in a Bucks rotation that's clearly scrambling without Giannis, he might get consistent run. That said, 2.6% ownership is still tiny. If you're in a 12-team league or deeper and need a backup point guard who might get 20+ minutes on a short-handed team, Anthony's worth a flier.
On the flip side, Dominick Barlow got dropped 0.1% after playing just 12 minutes for Philly. That's noise, but it tracks. He's barely available and barely relevant.
The Real Story
Milwaukee lost a game without two of its best players to a 76ers team that finally got some shooting contributions. That's not surprising. What matters for fantasy is what happens next: Does Giannis come back? Does KPJ get healthy? The Turner and Rollins performances tonight were situational. Don't get cute trying to build a lineup around them thinking this is a shift in role. It's not. It's a one-off without two All-NBA caliber players.
For 76ers owners, hold Paul George and Embiid, but know that George's 50+ FP night was the ceiling on this roster, not the floor. Maxey owners, don't panic. He's still a top-20 guy when healthy. One off night against a Bucks team playing a bench lineup doesn't change that trajectory.