The March Madness game winners that never wereThe March Madness game winners that never were

Paul George was critical of the Philadelphia 76ers after their 142-110 loss to the Chicago Bulls on Monday. The Sixers now have the sixth worst record in the NBA and Joel Embiid could miss the rest of the season.
“We’ve shown no sign of a team that will compete,” said George. “We just don’t have the habits of a champion, or a playoff contending team, would have. To be honest, right now it’s a little far-fetched. All we can do is work hard and try to just keep going.”
George is averaging 16.2 points, 5.2 rebounds and 4.2 assists in 32.2 minutes over his first 38 games with the Sixers. George’s PER has dropped from 19.3 to 14.7 since 23-24.
The Oklahoma City Thunder and Cleveland Cavaliers have separated themselves in Net Rating ahead of the Boston Celtics at No. 3, and an even bigger cap to the Memphis Grizzlies at No. 4.
NBA PER (Week 18):
1. Thunder: 12.8
2. Cavaliers: 11.2
3. Celtics: 9.5
4. Grizzlies: 6.5
5. Nuggets: 5.3
6. Knicks: 4.9
7. Rockets: 3.9
8. Wolves: 3.1
9. Clippers: 2.2
10. Mavericks: 1.9
11. Bucks: 1.6
12. Lakers: 1.3
13. Warriors: 1.2
14. Kings: 1.0
15. Pistons: 0.9
16. Pacers: 0.8
17. Magic: -1.0
18. Heat: -1.0
19. Spurs: -1.8
20. Suns: -2.2
21. Hawks: -2.2
22. Bulls: -3.9
23. Blazers: -4.6
24. Sixers: -4.7
25. Raptors: -5.6
26. Nets: -6.2
27. Jazz: -7.0
28. Hornets: -7.2
29. Pelicans: -8.4
30. Wizards: -12.8
Luka Doncic hasn’t commented publicly on the flow of leaks from the Dallas Mavericks that have disparaged his weight and conditioning, but sources tell ESPN that they have served as a motivator.
“A beast was awakened inside him,” the source said.
Doncic spent part of All-Star break in Cabo, but Scott Brooks joined him for two-hour per day workouts at a private, outdoor court. Doncic wasn’t at All-Star due to his calf injury keeping him off the team and the time in Mexico allowed him to disconnect from basketball despite the workouts.
“Honestly, I was getting my mind off basketball a little bit,” he said.
Doncic will play against his former team as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers for the first time on Tuesday at Crypto.com Arena.