Paul George, The NBA’s Newest Star

 

If you were to tell me back in October when the NBA season started Danny Granger would only play three games all year for the Indiana Pacers, the Pacers would be tied with the defending NBA champions Miami Heat 1-1 in the Eastern Conference Finals and looking like the better team in the series, my response would have been simple. I would have most likely said you were an idiot and laughed at your seemingly ridiculous prediction.

Granger was coming off four straight seasons of averaging over 18 points per game and was their best player. How could the Indiana Pacers, a team who has had its fair share of troubles scoring the basketball, replace him? Yes, Roy Hibbert’s game has steadily improved each year, David West is always good for 15 points and 7 rebounds a game, and their coach, Frank Vogel, is one of the top young basketball minds in the game today, but there is one main reason why the Indiana Pacers are feeling great going into tonight’s Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals.

It is because they are led by a star in 23 year old player Paul George.

George was the league’s Most Improved Player this year and rightfully so. Just two years ago the 3rd year man out of Fresno State averaged only 7.8 points per game. In last year’s Eastern Conference Semifinals in which the Pacers faced the Heat, George did not look like he belonged on the same floor with stars such as LeBron James and Dwyane Wade. He averaged 10 points in the series on 36% shooting. He could not defend James who was at his best in the six game series. He looked like a good young prospect, but was out of place in last year’s match-up.

Everyone knew Paul George was going to be good in the NBA. He has all the intangibles of a solid 3-guard in the league. He stands 6 foot 8, is built well, quick on his feet, long arms, extremely hard worker, and had shown flashes of how good he could be both offensively and defensively throughout his young career.

But this year he took a gigantic leap. He averaged 17.9 points per game along with 7.6 rebounds and 4.1 assists. He made his first all-star game and led the Indiana Pacers to the third best record in the Eastern Conference, without what was thought to be their best player in Danny Granger. George has clearly been the second best player on the floor during this series, behind LeBron James (just as everyone else is).

And he took his leap from being a very good NBA player to superstar, literally and figuratively, on one play.

As the third quarter was coming to a close, the Indiana Pacers cleared out and ran an isolation play for Paul George. He beat James off the dribble to his left and saw that the lane was his to take.

And then it happened.

George rose up and laid down an emphatic dunk on Miami Heat tough-guy Chris Andersen (BIRDMAN, BIRDMAN). And 1. George flexed and screamed at the stunned Miami crowd as his posterization was easily one of the best plays of the season.

But of course MVP LeBron James responded with a running deep three pointer as the time expired in the third quarter, somewhat overshadowing George’s highlight reel dunk.

However, James did not forget about it. As they crossed paths to go to their separate benches, some playful words were exchanged, they both smiled, and James went out of his way to slap hands with George.

A simple gesture that seemed to tell a bigger story.

Watching it live gave me the feeling that “The King,” LeBron James, was “welcoming” Paul George . He was welcoming him to the elite club of basketball players. A club that consists of James, Kevin Durant, Kobe Bryant, Chris Paul, among a handful of others.

He deserves to be included in that club from what he has shown this postseason He has carried himself in a manner where he truly believes he is the best player on the court each and every night, even when facing the consensus best player in the world in LeBron James. To be a superstar you have to think that. George has stood toe to toe with James this series so far and shows no signs of backing down.

So far this series he is averaging 24.5 points per game, making clutch plays (knocked down a game tying three pointer to send game to overtime in Game 1 and nailed three free throws with 2.2 seconds left in Game 1 to put the Pacers up by 1), all while guarding the toughest match-up in the NBA in LeBron James. Yes, he has made mistakes, like overplaying James on the James’ game-winning layup in Game 1. He is 23. It happens. How many 23 year olds respond with 22 points and play a key role in defeating the defending champs in the next game? Very few.

Only time will tell how good Paul George can be. The guy has only been in the league for three years and will continue to grow as a player. His potential is scary. LeBron James welcomed him in to the club and that is good enough for me.

Paul George is a star in the NBA, plain and simple.

 

What Were The Indiana Pacers Doing on the LeBron James Game Winning Layup in Game 1?

The Indiana Pacers gave the Miami Heat all they could handle in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals.  From Paul George knocking down a wild three pointer to send the game into overtime to David West piling in a beastly 26 points, the Indiana Pacers gave the LeBron James led Miami Heat an epic battle in the first game of this series.  The Heat came out survivors off the final play, which was a drive and layup by James as time expired to lead the Heat to victory in Game 1.

But the last play of the game was a total meltdown by the Indiana Pacers.

The first mistake of the play was not having center Roy Hibbert in the game.  Frank Vogel called Hibbert, “the best rim protector in the game,” earlier this week.  Yet he is not in the game when you know the best finisher in the league, LeBron James, is going to get the ball and look to quickly attack?  2.2 seconds is plenty of time, especially for a player that covers as much ground as James can in such a short amount of time.  Roy Hibbert has to be in the game.  There is no excuse for him not to be.

Many people via social media were defending Vogel’s tactic by saying Hibbert would be a liability if James were to kick out to forward Chris Bosh as he attacked.  Because Hibbert is 7-2 and does not have the close out ability of someone smaller, Bosh may get a more open look with Hibbert in the game.  However, you will live with Chris Bosh shooting an 15 foot jumpshot.  As James drove down the lane, it looked as if he was in pre-game layup lines.

That is where Hibbert comes in.  He is going to alter the LeBron James attack in some way.  James may see the 7-2 center in help position and pull up going to his left looking for a jump shot.  He may continue to drive and look to draw a foul on Hibbert or finish on him.  Lastly, he may look to a kick out to Bosh in the right corner or Ray Allen in the left corner.  Those are all options you have to live with if you are Frank Vogel and the Indiana Pacers.

But if there is one option you are going to lose with ever single time, it is an uncontested layup by James.  Vogel subbed in reserve Sam Young and high energy forward Tyler Hansbrough, who are both not rim protectors in any way and Young did not even try to be one on the last possession (more on this later), was hard to fathom watching this game.  Regardless of what James ended up doing, had Hibbert been in, the presence alone of Hibbert would have slowed James down by a couple tenths of a second and could have been the difference between being up 1-0 versus the defending champs and being down 0-1.  In the end, LeBron James caught the ball and without even a hint of hesitation drove the ball to the hoop and scored, leaving the Indiana Pacers in 0-1 deficit.

This picture perfectly shows how open his lane was without a rim protector like Roy Hibbert.  That is just too easy for LeBron James.

Side Note:  Somehow Vogel managed to make this colossal mistake twice.  Sadly, the one that cost them the game was the second time.  With 15 seconds left in overtime and the game tied, Vogel took out Hibbert again, going small to match the Heat, leading the Pacers without their coveted rim protector in the game again.  James then comes off a screen in which George Hill was forced to switch on to him.  James blows by him and scores an easy right-handed layup.  For as good as a coach Vogel has been all season down the stretch of Game 1 his defensive substitutions were skeptical to say the least.  

Not all the mistakes made on the final defensive possessions were made by Frank Vogel.  As LeBron James caught the ball,  Paul George’s positioning on him was a reason James could get to the basket so quickly with so little effort.  George overplayed James on his right hip.  This parted the sea for James and it was all over from there.  George has to be in a better defensive position on the final possession   James is to big and strong to allow you to recover if you overplay on his hip.  Had George squared up and played him straight up, James does not get to the basket that easily.  Playing him straight up forces him to make a basketball move and a play to give his team the win.  That is much harder to do in 2.2 seconds than taking one dribble and laying the ball in the basket.

Secondly, George needed to close out under control.  The reason he ended up overplaying and on James’ right hip was because he closed out on James way to hard.  Paul George, who I thought did a very good job defending LeBron James all night, is a young player who looked anxious on the final possession leading to the James game-winner.

Notice where Paul George starts this possession.  He is well overplayed and on his right hip.  No player in the NBA can recover on LeBron James when they start a defense of sequence as George did here.

The last vital mistake was the overall help defense by the Pacers and in particular, Sam Young.  In the first picture (above) you can clearly see that everyone is hugging their man and worried about not giving up an open jump shot to the guy they are defending.  But since George ended up on James’ hip, they must immediately help off their man and make James make a decision   Tyler Hansbrough, who is in the right corner guarding Ray Allen is so worried about Allen’s three point ability, he has no chance of helping George on the James drive.  Hansbrough’s first priority should  be helping the drive.  Regardless of how good of a three point shooter Ray Allen is, he is not as good as LeBron James is at layups.  Help off Allen and force James into making a decision and recovering on Allen if James chooses that option should have been what Hansbrough was doing on this final possession, not ball watching.

The next problem with the help on the final possession of this game was that fact that Sam Young played horrendous weak side help defense.  Young was out of position when the play started.  He was outside the key when James caught it and the moment he saw George on James’ hip, he should have been in the restricted area attempting to contest the shot.  One, he was to slow with his help.  By the time James was in the air Young was just finally getting into the restricted area under the hoop.  Secondly, he did not even contest the shot.  You may not be able to block LeBron James, but you can surely jump up and contest the shot, maybe he misses or maybe you foul him.  But worse comes to worse, you put a player in a situation with the game on the line and make him earn the W.  LeBron James has missed big free throws in the past.  But the Pacers never made him earn it because Young never left his feet and James soared in for his second career playoff buzzer-beater.

 Look as James is going up for the layup Sam Young is in decent position to make a play, but he does not move from that stance making the game-winner an extremely easy shot.

LeBron James is the best basketball player in the world and may have made an all-world play to win Game 1 in the final seconds if the Pacers played perfect defense.  But the Indiana Pacers made about as many mistakes as you can in one possession to cost them in a pivotal playoff game.  It was just too easy.  However, kudos to LeBron James for making the shot and Erik Spolestra for designing a good play, but if you are Frank Vogel and the Indiana Pacers you are kicking yourself because you should have stolen Game 1 and the momentum of the Eastern Conference Finals.