High ceiling player. I know it's a reach, but I think he could be a lesser Pippen if he really pans out.
@BillSimmons: Really important game for Paul George just now. He'd already turned into a signature star but doing it on national TV cements it.
You know what, Paul George has really impressed me thus far. I thought he would be another Trevor Ariza type who didn't have the handles to make the next big step. But, he's been doing incredibly well lately. I still think his dribbling ability needs improvement and he shoots too many 3's, but I really like his potential. Man the Pacers play an ugly style of basketball though lol
Best defense in the league, with the worst offense in the league. Jeff Van Gundy must be LOVING this team.
And only 1 turnover. On the downside, he shot .417 and only took two free throws. But yeah, George had a really impressive night tonight.
the pacers have one of the worst attendance in the league that ugly offense will surely help that lol
That's true - but it's also true that the Eastern Conference was TERRIBLE then and that they would never have been able to even come close to the playoffs if they were in the Western Conference that year.
Winning in the playoffs would help, though It's hard to attract big crowds in a small-ish city that has Colts and a bunch of great NCAA schools. Prettiness would help much. They need to win. The Jermain O'Neal - Artest - Reggie Miller teams weren't pretty, but attendance was good. Then those guys were gone, the Pacers started playing at a faster pace and some would say prettier, but that's when their attendance dropped.
The offense should improve when Granger returns without hurting the defense (he's better than Stevenson). The basketball reference "defensive win shares" stat has the pacers with 3 of the best 8 individual defenders in the league, George, Hibbert, West so their starting 5 by that analysis has -the best defensive SF in the NBA -the 2nd best defensive C -the 2nd best defensive PF -the 3rd best defensive PG -the 3rd best defensive SG (Stevenson), who will go to the bench when Granger returns and moves Paul Greorge to SG http://www.basketball-reference.com...0&c6stat=&order_by=dws&order_by_asc=&offset=0 Lockdown defense is not ugly, it just takes some getting used to!
I like Paul George, although his offensive game is regressing into 3 pointers. His field goal % has gone down substantially every year in the NBA, although the number of threes is a big reason why.
Both, really. I would've said SG a few months ago, since big wings used to be the hardest for him to defend. But he seems much more comfortable now.
Tuesday night Lebron was 10-20 with 7 turnovers and made 1 free throw. Last night JR Smith was 10-29 and George had 6 steals. Paul George guards the opposition's best scorer who is a SF, SG, or even a PG. Yes, he regularly defends point guards like Derrick Rose when healthy, Tony Parker, oe Chris Paul, SGs like Kobe, SFs like Paul Pierce, Durrant and Lebron, and at 6'10" on occasion can defend a PF. If your point was that the Knicks had no one to defend last, then yes, it was "only" JR Smith he sent home shooting 10-29.
I havent watched any Pacers Games in a while - but there seems to be a lot of buzz around him right now. It seems like he is a high volume shooter with only an average fg% - and a big reason fr that seem to be his many 3 pointers. What do you guys think, will he get a max contract next off season? Might he be a target for Morey? Perhaps Parsons can bulk up some to defend 4s and a guy like George might go in as our 3...
At this point, I think he gets the max. And the Pacers would match. Or more likely, the Pacers will use their 5 year rookie extension option this summer and extend him at a bit cheaper price. Morey can target him in 2019, when George's second contract expires...
