Paul George addresses his minutes restriction after Sixers beat Nets

NEW YORK -- As Paul George works his way back into things with the Philadelphia 76ers, the team is making sure he is worked back into things slowly. That means putting a minutes restriction on the 9-time All-Star in order to ensure he doesn't push himself too much and aggravate any issues.

For example, George only played 21 minutes in Friday's win over the Brooklyn Nets. He finished with 14 points on 6-for-10 shooting, but all of those points came in the first half. He played 14 of his 21 minutes in the first half and shot 6-for-8 in the first half as he went to work against a young Nets team.

George played 9:23 in the first quarter and 5:08 in the second before playing 6:50 in the third before the Sixers had to sit him. When considering this is his 16th season, he would prefer longer stints in order to get into a rhythm over time, but he knows this is what it is for now.

"I do like it to where I'm playing longer stints, because I think over the long run, I feel like it's better when I am able to get more minutes down the line that I'm able to play eight, nine minutes at a time, and then hopefully it gets to where I'm playing the whole quarter," George explained. "So I do like the early stints, the long stints, early on, because then I think it just will help in the big picture."

As George was on the bench, the Nets did make inroads into the lead. A streak from Brooklyn rookie Egor Demin brought the Nets to within nine in the fourth before the Sixers were able to put them away. That is tough for George to have to sit and watch rather than be on the floor and help Philadelphia finish it off.

"It is difficult," George admitted. "I mean, it's difficult knowing, to start the game off, how long you'll be out there, but then as the game goes on, you're like, subconsciously counting how much time you got left. So it is tough. It's a challenge, especially trying to find rhythm, try to stay in rhythm, and try to just be consistent with the time that you're out there for."

George has worked his way back from plenty of injuries in the past, so this isn't anything new for him, but this is going to be a process. He has to work his body back from the variety of injuries he dealt with in the 2024-25 season plus the recent ankle sprain he's dealing with. That means a lot of maintenance, and a minutes restriction for now until George gets everything back on the right track.

"It’s just trying to stack good days," George finished. "Keep the good days going. It's been trending forward with the more on court I'm able to do, the better I've been feeling, the better I've been feeling post game after, and hopefully minutes will start to increase as the weeks go on and games go on and the body continues to wake up."

The Sixers will take on the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday back at home.

This article originally appeared on Sixers Wire: Paul George addresses his minutes restriction after Sixers beat Nets