Paul George is one of the most criticized stars in the NBA, despite his insane regular season performances. During his days with the Indiana Pacers, Paul George had a nickname that referenced his playoff ability, “Playoff P”. Despite that nickname, Paul George hasn’t been doing well in the playoffs in recent memory: he got bounced twice in the first round during his time with the Oklahoma City Thunder, and then was beaten in the second round after the Los Angeles Clippers choked a 3-1 lead to the Denver Nuggets.
Paul George has had some notable negative moments in recent playoffs, such as getting a series-winning shot hit on him by Damian Lillard his last year in OKC or hitting the side of the backboard during the Denver Nuggets series. This regular season though, Paul George has been on fire. Paul George is having one of the most efficient seasons of his career, and hopefully, that bodes well for the Los Angeles Clippers in the playoffs. The Clippers need George at full strength to compete with contenders like the Los Angeles Lakers or the Denver Nuggets.
Paul George Is Averaging Career Bests In Multiple Statistics
Paul George has always been one of the best wing players in the NBA. He had all the tools and the athleticism to be an All-Star. His amazing value comes from his ability to score extremely efficiently. Paul George has always been an efficient player due to his prowess from beyond the arc, and his ability to score on all three levels. While his scoring numbers are down due to sharing the court with a talented scorer like Kawhi Leonard, Paul George is still very capable of putting up points.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJqVu9dHu3A
Paul George is currently averaging 24.4 PPG with amazing efficiency: 50.8 FG%, 47.8% from beyond the arc, and 90.5% from the line. Those numbers are all career-bests for him, and it just shows what a great start to the season he has had. Almost all of his statistics are up from last season, and it looks like he has turned a corner on the injury issues as well.
An underrated part about Paul George’s statistics is that he is currently averaging 5.5 APG, also a career-best. While George isn’t a natural passer, he is still a smart basketball player who can make the right play, and threaten himself scoring in order to create baskets for his teammates. This season, Paul George’s all-around play has evolved to a new level and he looks miles better than during his first season with the Clippers. Paul George has found his footing, and has had a bounce-back season so far.
Paul George Can Prove Himself This Season
Paul George was once considered an MVP candidate during the 2018-19 season: he averaged 28.0 PPG that season and was on a solid Oklahoma City Thunder roster. On the Los Angeles Clippers, George is showing that he can still be a similar version of himself to that year in Oklahoma City, albeit now he doesn’t have to carry the load himself. Kawhi Leonard and Paul George are both hyper-efficient offensive players: they are both in the 50/40/90 club for the season. The Los Angeles Clippers have pressure to win after last year’s fiasco, and if George’s momentum from the regular season continues, they will be in a good spot to do so.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ppN8B_gUfGo
Chris Broussard on Paul George: I’m not saying Paul George shouldn’t view himself in this way. But I think players in the league look at Paul George and he’s viewing himself like he’s LeBron, like he’s KD, like he’s Steph, like he’s Kawhi, like he’s Giannis. Those guys have either won regular season MVPs or Finals MVPs… these guys I just mentioned, they’re top shelf: you’re not on that shelf, so stop thinking you should be on that shelf. So people took issue with that.
This is Paul George’s chance to prove everybody wrong. He hasn’t had recent playoff success and hasn’t made a Conference Finals since his time with the Indiana Pacers. His regular season is a good start to reminding everyone about who he is: a bonafide superstar. But the questions are always gonna swirl: he can be great during the regular season, yet he will always be criticized until he performs in the playoffs. Paul George is a great player, and he has had seasons where he’s shown flashes of MVP potential. But he has to put it all together and based on the start of this season, it looks like that moment is possibly already here.
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