Last season, the Los Angeles Clippers made their first-ever appearance in the Western Conference Finals, marking the completion of a long-awaited milestone for the franchise.
The feat came in the aftermath of a hard-fought series against the Utah Jazz, which pinned Paul George against one of his fiercest opponents: sharpshooter Joe Ingles. Throughout the series, Ingles was a pest defensively and made life tough for the Clippers star on the basketball floor.
The same could be said for the series in 2018, too, when Ingles and his Jazz team decimated PG and the Oklahoma City Thunder in the first round.
In a chat with JJ Redick on ‘The Old Man & The Three,’ Ingles looked back on his matchup with Paul George and explained why he puts so much energy into trying to get into other players’ heads.
“Of course Paul George is a million times better than me and I’m not doubting that at all,” said Ingles. “It’s what I have to do. I try and stand close to him the whole game and just annoy him. If we play one-on-one in the summer he’s going to kill me every possession on both ends of the floor offensively and defensively. There’s got to be some sort of difference in the game that I have to make.”
While Ingles isn’t going to win any awards for his work on defense, the effort he puts in on that end of the floor makes a notable difference for his team.
Over the past decade, the Jazz have consistently been among the league’s best defensive ball clubs, and Ingles’ presence on the wing is no doubt at least partly responsible.
This season the Jazz are once again the masters at slowing down their opponents, but it remains to be seen whether or not that success will translate into the playoffs.
If it does, Paul George and the Clips (who are 5th in the West) could be in store for another epic battle.
