Paul George's Emotional, Encouraging Return Bodes Well for Pacers' Playoff Hopes

The fall came on a grand stage.

Paul George was beyond vulnerable. He was visibly broken.

So chilling was the scene in the middle of the sizzling Vegas desert and summer that the rest of the ESPN-televised USA Basketball exhibition showcase was just shelved. That’s how unnerving it was to see George go from flying through the air to lying on a stretcher due to a compound fracture of his lower right leg.

What’s great about sports is that the stage is constant.

So just like all our eyes were on the fall, George also had the spotlight on Sunday when he rose again.

It’s only fair.

The first piece of redemption was memorable, too.

The standing ovation from Indiana Pacers fans came before George did a single thing besides step back on the court. It was his public reward for the humbling fall.

Then it was back to basketball, which is the way George hoped it could be.

The greater hope for the public was that it could be inspiring basketball from George—not just a reminder of what he can offer, but a return of what he does offer.

After everyone around him tried to downplay his return and potential impact on the Pacers’ push for the playoffs, George rather easily proved what star players can and should be expected to do: supersede when standards are regular.

George’s swarming, long-armed defense and sweet shooting stroke were undeniable even if he was trying to quietly fit in when he first entered the game Sunday. He was a legitimate reason why the Pacers pulled away from the Miami Heat, 112-89. And because of that result, Indiana moved into much better position to take one of the two available East playoff slots away from the Nets, Celtics, Heat or Hornets.

George wasn’t fully confident, of course, in netting 13 points on 5-of-12 shooting in 15 minutes. He repeatedly looked back to see who might be gaining on him from behind on plays he previously would churn forward with no doubts.

During his first-half stint, George could be seen stealing glances back toward Heat forward Luol Deng after George’s steal and clear path toward a fast-break basket.

George—the same guy who rose so high on a dunk that he nearly sheared the Mohawk off the Heat’s Chris Andersen in Game 2 of the 2013 Eastern Conference Finals after blowing by LeBron James—looked uncertain. He took careful steps before taking off using his “good” left leg but didn’t get much lift off it, and he wound up missing the open layup instead of hammering any sort of dunk.

Fortunately for George, teammate Luis Scola followed and cleaned it up so that George—and all the Pacers who’d stood up in such anticipation on their bench—could laugh about the misstep. George had hit his first shot on his first attempt earlier—a nifty leaner against Miami’s zone defense. But George’s second-half run was when he started playing much more freely.

George spaced the floor neatly before hitting one corner three. Soon after, he drove the lane to create the corner three for Donald Sloan. George’s instincts were on display on that one. George passed to Sloan in the corner only after Dwyane Wade jumped to guess the pass would go up top.

George had come into the game late in the third quarter with the Pacers leading 69-60. His three-pointer from the top of the key boosted the lead to 85-71 with 9:33 to play. George exited with 7:46 left and a 92-73 Pacers lead.

Even though the Pacers tried to describe George’s return as simply the final step in his individual rehab—meant to prepare him for next season—it was impossible to believe George can’t be a difference-maker in meaningful contests from here on out as he gets more accustomed to game speed again.

This was the first of Indiana’s final six games, the last two being nationally televised (April 14 vs. Washington on TNT and April 15 at Memphis on ESPN) for fans to see how ready George might be if the Pacers do make the playoffs.

“I feel fine. I’m glad I got one under my belt,” George told Fox Sports Indiana’s Jeremiah Johnson on the court after the game.

About the initial greeting from those fans on their feet, George said, “The moment was phenomenal.”

George will have to be careful in the coming week or so not to keep settling for jumpers on offense—that was the initial scouting report on him before he broke through as a full-fledged star—but he’s at the very least inherently capable of defending Wade better than Rodney Stuckey did Sunday.

Now that George has his return out of the way, he can move on to where his career is supposed to take him.

He’s still just a month from turning 25.

And even in a return performance with that awkward blown layup for all to see, George proved the star qualities are still there.

Now it’s back to the work, on the stage, every night.

Kevin Ding is an NBA senior writer for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter, @KevinDing.