Where do the Philadelphia 76ers go from here? That is the question that the NBA community has to ponder after their streak of misfortune does not seem to end. After signing his historic contract extension, Joel Embiid increased expectations about the ongoing season by stating, “You guys deserve a championship and I think we’re just getting started!”. The addition of Paul George only increased hopes that the team’s better days are ahead of it. Now, the script has flipped and their situation paints a grim picture. In light of this, Paul George is now looking to make a serious commitment in the season’s second half.The 76ers small forward recently released another episode of his long-running ‘Podcast P’ show. As it turned out, it may be the last one that the NBA community sees for a while. After the hour-long discussion with Dwight Howard concluded, Paul George added a personal note during the final minutes. He admitted that the ongoing season hasn’t been what many envisioned it to be.In light of this, he stated “I want to let the Podcast P family know that after today’s episode, with Dwight, I plan to take a break from the Pod, just to focus on getting my body right, getting mentally right, and, you know, help this squad make a push towards our goal to finish the season out, give ourselves a chance to be in contentions, to compete for a championship”. George expressed his wish to get back to shooting in person with his teammates. At the same time, he let his co-hosts Jackie Long and Dallas Rutherford know that this is only a temporary goodbye.Paul George is amongst those small group of active NBA players, including Draymond Green, Josh Hart, and Jalen Brunson, who host their own show. It launched in March 2023 and, by June 2024, reports suggested that the podcast rakes in 30 million monthly views, and 1.75 million followers across its social channels. This included 725,000 just on YouTube. From interviews to analysis, ‘Podcast P’ covers a wide range of topics that any NBA enthusiast would be interested in.Unfortunately, hosting a podcast takes up time. Time that could be otherwise spent in training, especially when one is smack in the middle of an NBA season. Paul George may have realized this now. After all, after 38 games, he has averaged 16.2 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 4.2 assists. The last time Paul George had a lower points average was during the 2014-15 season. Furthermore, it doesn’t help that with a 20-37 win record, the Philadelphia 76ers now hold the 12th seed on the Eastern Conference points table. Therefore, the need is now to forego all distractions and focus on the season.Feb 12, 2025; Brooklyn, New York, USA; Philadelphia 76ers forward Paul George (8) reacts during the fourth quarter against the Brooklyn Nets at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn ImagesUnfortunately, Paul George may have been too late in his commitment. The aftermath of the recent Bulls-76ers game proved that.Paul George backtracks on championship hope after Joel Embiid and Guerschon Yabusele’s injury: “It’s a little far-fetched”Going into the matchup against the Chicago Bulls, the Philadelphia 76ers had lost 7 consecutive games. However, there was hope that things would be different when facing the Bulls. After all, the 76ers had lost their last 3 games against them. Furthermore, the Chicago franchise had also lost 7 of their last 8 games. Unfortunately, not only did Paul George’s team lose, they succumbed to a 142-110 blowout loss! It didn’t help that Joel Embiid was ‘OUT’ due to his knee ailment. It CERTAINLY DID NOT HELP when Guerschon Yabusele exited the game at the beginning of the second half after getting hit in the face. Yabusele was later diagnosed with a corneal abrasion, meaning that his availability for future games is also now under doubt.All of this certainly left Paul George frustrated. Any comments made on his show about competing for the championship were now on the far side of his mind. As a result, the player spoke out against his own team by stating “we’ve shown no signs of a team that will compete. We just don’t have the habit of a champion or a playoff-contending team. As for playing to secure the Larry O’Brien trophy, he added “So to be honest right now, it’s a little far-fetched. All we can do is work hard, try to keep going for one another. But we’ve shown no signs of forget championship, but a playoff contending team here.” Yikes!Paul George on the Sixers and their quest to make the playoffs: “Regardless of who’s playing, who’s not playing, to have admiration for this group to believe that we can be not to get into the playoffs, but to make a push towards it, we’ve shown no signs of a team that will…— Keith Pompey (@PompeyOnSixers) February 25, 2025It is hard to know whether the Philadelphia 76ers can recover from their current situation. With Joel Embiid out of the picture, it is up to Paul George to take the offensive charge. Whether the team’s situation improves under his new mindset is something that remains to be seen.The post Paul George Makes Bittersweet Announcement as 76ers Face Ugly Reality of Joel Embiid & GY’s Medical Conditions appeared first on EssentiallySports.