We made it! At least for a while, we can watch sporting events again without being exposed to a barrage of political ads. The only depressing thing we’ll have to watch now is Sixers basketball (ba-dum-tss). Which, to be fair, looked a lot better in Paul George’s team debut Monday night in Phoenix. Philadelphia squandered a late lead and lost by two to the Suns, leaving the season at 1-5, but unsurprisingly things looked much more cohesive with a six-time All-NBA player in the mix.

George showed some rust as he shot just 4-of-14 from the field on Monday, but you can bet he’ll be highly motivated to improve on that performance tonight in Los Angeles. As you may recall, PG left his home in LA because the Clippers were keeping a low profile on him during contract negotiations. They initially offered him just two years, $60 million, then worked their way up to three years, $150 million, close to what Kawhi Leonard signed for, but didn’t give George the no-trade clause he wanted if he were to enter below . a maximum deal. Tonight will be his chance to show Steve Ballmer and company firsthand that they made a big mistake as he is currently listed as probable.

Paul will not be joined by his new star teammate, Joel Embiid, who will serve his three-game suspension tonight. The current 3-4 Clippers will be without their own load management king as Kawhi Leonard remains out due to a lingering inflammation in his surgically repaired knee. There are also some familiar faces out for Los Angeles: Mo Bamba is out due to a knee injury and P.J. Tucker is away from the team until he realizes no one wants to trade for his $11 million contract.

Speaking of which, including Tucker as part of the James Harden trade was masterful work by Daryl Morey. The system has a heavy load to carry as the only member of LA’s Big 3 from last year who is now playing, averaging 21.1 points, 8.7 rebounds and 9.9 assists. However, he also shoots just 38.1 percent from the field, including 29.5 percent from three, and averages 5.0 turnovers. We’ll have to see more of one game from the Paul George era to say for sure, but trading Harden and Tucker for expiring contracts (who were also helpful players) and freeing up enough cap space for max free agency agent, couldn’t. have fared better from the Sixers’ perspective.

Tonight is our first up-close and personal look at The Wall in the newly constructed Intuit Dome. It definitely looks like a cool fan experience, and it’s nice that there’s something that sets the new arena for the Clippers apart from other places. I’ve always loved that aspect of baseball where each park has its own quirks.

It is the second of three games in the West for the Sixers. We’ll see if they can break a three-game losing streak and get that elusive second win of the season.

Game details

WHO: Philadelphia 76ers at Los Angeles Clippers
When: 10:00 PM ET
Where: Intuit Dome, Los Angeles, CA
Watch: NBC Sports Philadelphia, ESPN
Radio: 97.5 The fanatic
To follow: @LibertyBallers