Paul George has put the world on notice. (Credits: Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images) |
There's been this talk, this feverish talk especially of late, about Paul George becoming a "superstar," that he's now among the elite. That talk is clearly a product of our overanalysis of everything that occurs these days, however. Don't get me wrong, Paul George is clearly coming into his own, a growing two-way player that seemingly gets better every game. But we need to relax with this talk about him being a game-changing, franchise altering player for now at least. I mean that's what a superstar is, isn't it?
Just two years ago the Pacers selected a little known, but highly touted wing out of Fresno State with the 10th pick. That, of course, was Paul George. Coming off the bench, the rookie showed flashes of brilliancy but he was cast deep in the shadow of an emerging star in Danny Granger. While Granger was out there dropping 20 point games with his eyes closed, George was struggling to adjust to the NBA on the offensive end. His athletic talents were being well showcased on defense, but he was ages behind Granger in the other regard.
Year two in the NBA brought about a lot of improvement in George's game. He was given a starter role and benefitted from playing more minutes. Across the board his stats rose, but still he was simply Granger's backup, a nice role player who could lockdown the opposing wing and give you a cutting bucket here and there. 12.1 points, 5.6 rebounds a game wasn't knocking anyone off their feet. Even with Granger taking a small step backwards in 2011, Paul George was still an afterthought.
Then came this year when George was asked to take on a much larger role with the news that Granger would miss a majority of the season. Granger instead missed the entire season (basically) and George flourished. The 23-year-old made this Pacers team his squad. He was the defensive leader. He was the offensive leader. He became the catalyst. If he struggled, the whole team struggled. Across the board his stats ascended (17.4 pts/7.6 rebs/4.1 asts), all while his defense continued to be strong as ever. Paul George, in a blink of an eye, transformed into a two-way All-Star from an afterthought. It kind of a hit everyone out of nowhere. As if we were supposed to know that some guy from Fresno State, who was stuck on the bench behind one of the more overrated players in the game, (cough...cough...Granger) would become a legitimate player in this league. Well his legitimacy is growing.
There's this part about playing LeBron James that happens before you even touch the hardwood. It's mental. It's preparation. It's confidence. It's not giving a you know what that you're about to go up against the best player in the world. It's about truly believing you can beat him. If you don't have this attitude to start the game, you've already lost. That's the biggest thing Paul George has brought so far this series. Yeah, he's put a couple good games on the stat sheet while badgering LeBron into some inexcusable turnovers. But he's playing with this I'm-your-equal attitude that has really shifted this series, that's made LeBron think twice about driving to the hole against him. Paul George has introduced himself to the world, in a thunderous way.
A lot was made of the George-poster-dunk-LeBron-three point-answer scene. Their little after-the-play slap of the hands. LeBron's odd post-basket giggle. LeBron has a clear respect for George, but does it go even further? Was LeBron's laugh a sign of a weakness? Was he engaging in one of those "Wow, I've bitten off a lot more than I can chew" moments? I mean it was one sequence, but James feared George's defense down the stretch of that game forcing him into two "Classic LeBron overpassing" turnovers. Could Paul George be in LeBron James' head? Didn't LeBron exorcise those demons in Game 6 of the ECFs last year when he eviscerated the Celtics with that pissed off look on his face? At this point it's gotta have you thinking, is George really this good? I mean is he "I'm going to get inside the head of the now mentally tough best player on earth" good?
I'm not sure, but I think we need to slow our roll about George. He's certainly playing at a high level, a level the King has taken legitimate notice of, but I see this ceiling with George. He doesn't strike me as a guy who will ever average more than 20 points a game. His shot's not exactly pure and offensively he lacks the consistency to carry a franchise. But then again he's 23. There's milleniums for this guy to grow. And hey at least we now know that the Pacers mistakenly had George on the bench for two years, when it really should have been the one dimensional Granger who was sitting at tip-off. He can pretty much wipe those two years in Granger's shadow off the books; he has arrived.
But let's relax and let him grow in his own time. Let's enjoy that growth. We know what over-expectations can to do to people, just look at LeBron.
Superstar? Not yet. Face of the franchise? Definitely. Chipping away at LeBron's confidence? That's where we'll just have to sit back, kick our feet up and let it all play out.
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