NBA Fans Are Finally Seeing the Paul George They Were Promised
On Monday, in the Los Angeles Clippers' 116-102 road win over the Phoenix Suns, forward Paul George put together one of the best stat lines in the history of the conference finals.
With 41 points, 13 boards and six assists, George became just the ninth player since 1983-84 (as far back as Basketball Reference has complete box scores) with a 40-10-5 game this late in the playoffs.
What really set this performance apart, though, is the efficiency with which George collected his points. Those nine players have combined for 12 such games (LeBron James has four), and PG's five missed shots is the low mark on the list.
After years of criticism since George dubbed himself "Playoff P" in 2018, it now feels like he's on the verge of a breakthrough we thought was right around the corner nearly a decade ago.
In 2013, he was 23, a member of the Indiana Pacers and on the wrong end of a Game 7 loss to LeBron and the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals.
He had seven points, but his series average of 19.4 against star-studded Miami suggested he might be on the verge of superstardom. The next year, his Pacers fell to the Heat in the conference finals again, but PG put up 24.0 points and 3.2 threes with a 38.0 three-point percentage in that series.
"If his career unfolds as a 3-and-D+++ player who never taps his full potential, that would hardly be a tragedy," Dan Feldman wrote for NBC Sports at the time.
"Yet, there's no reason George can't become so much more.
"... Paul George and the Pacers are making waves that could erode Miami's beach soon. Maybe as soon as next season."
Just over two months later, George suffered a gruesome broken right leg.
In the fourth quarter of a Blue vs. White scrimmage for Team USA, George was injured when he hit the basket stanchion after he contested a transition layup by James Harden.
"It was difficult to watch the injury that Paul George sustained tonight while representing his country," NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said at the time. "The thoughts and prayers of all of us at the NBA are with Paul and his family."
George failed to get past the first round in each of his next four postseason appearances with the Pacers and Oklahoma City Thunder. Last season, the Clippers infamously blew a 3-1 lead over the Denver Nuggets. In the closeout game of that series, he shot 4-of-16 from the field and 2-of-11 from three. In this conference finals, he's had two high-leverage, late-game trips to the line in which he went 0-of-2.
Despite a top-three MVP finish in 2018-19 and postseason averages of 25.4 points, 7.9 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 3.0 threes since the broken leg, the low points seemed to get far more attention than the highs. "Playoff P" became more of a punchline than a nickname.
If George pulls off this comeback, he'll not only exorcise the demons of last year's collapse, but he'll also likely silence his critics.
"I am who I am," George said after the game. "I wish I could shoot 80 percent on a nightly basis. ... They can judge me on what they want to. That part doesn't matter to me. I'm gonna go out there and hoop and give it everything I got."
It'd be hard to argue George hasn't done just that since co-star Kawhi Leonard went down with a right knee injury. In the seven games since then, L.A. has eliminated the top-seeded Utah Jazz and has two wins against the No. 2 Suns. George's numbers in this stretch: 30.9 points, 11.3 rebounds and 6.1 assists.
He's had plenty of help from Reggie Jackson, Marcus Morris Sr., Terance Mann and the rest of a resilient supporting cast, but the Clippers' still being alive has more to do with PG than anything.
Whether it's Royce O'Neale, Mikal Bridges, Joe Ingles, Jae Crowder or Devin Booker, it doesn't seem to matter who's guarding him. George is scoring on everyone.
On Monday, he seemed particularly intent on getting to the paint. His six three-point attempts were his second-fewest in a game this postseason (he put up five in the closeout win over Utah), and he was 4-of-4 on two-point jumpers. The rest of his damage came around the rim.
Even with Deandre Ayton logging 37 minutes and L.A. playing small for most of the game, George—who went 8-of-10 around the rim—might have been the most menacing presence inside.
Of course, this is just one game. Kawhi remains out, and the Suns are up 3-2. The Clippers are 3-0 in elimination games this postseason, but they have to get to 5-0 to represent the Western Conference in the Finals. If they survive Game 6, they'll have to win Game 7 on the road.
This is more than an uphill battle, but George continues to demonstrate he's up for some climbing.
Over the last seven years, he's suffered a devastating injury, adapted to two new organizations and taken plenty of playoff lumps. Two more wins against the up-and-coming Suns will not be impossible.
George was ahead of schedule back in 2013. His superstar play in 2021 came just in time.
