Johnny J
"Oh, he's really lights out."--Kenny Smith
It must be something going around
for players who have two first names. For
some reason, they know how to ball: Chris Paul, Dwight Howard, Kevin Martin, and Paul George, just to name a few. (Taking a
note down for when I have a son). These players have established themselves as
good NBA players. But
the one who suddenly just appeared out of nowhere is Paul George of the Indiana
Pacers. This guy is very talented, and has made a name for
himself. I would say someone to build a team around. Yes, I said it, a
franchise player and at 22 years of age, he can only get
better.
When
was the last time you heard of an NBA player coming out of Fresno
State? I actually had to do research to get the answer; Melvin Ely, back in
2002. He was a first round pick, selected 12th overall. At age 34, he now plays in
the D-league. I guess hes
still developing. George is actually the fourth player to come out of
Fresno State, and be selected in the first round by a team in the past 13 years. He was
drafted the highest at #10. George has
made significant progress on his development, earning the Most Improved Player Award (MIP) in only his third season. George
is very athletic and has great upside to his game. He can play
both sides of the floor, and is quickly getting Pacers' fans to
forget about Danny Granger--out for the season. When one star goes down, another one quickly rises, at
least every GM hopes so.
Thus
a star was born. When Granger went down, George didn't back-off from the
pressure. He knew, someone had to bring the intensity every night like Granger
did. In fact, he grabbed the opportunity and dunked it in. It is now
his team. The only difference between George and Granger is the former is more of
a complete player, he shoots, he drives,
draws fouls, and plays DEFENSE people! That's Pacer basketball in a nutshell. He
doesn't start fights to try and get into opponents' head like Granger did
against LeBron James in the Eastern Conference
Semifinals in
2012. He's not a dirty player, but yes the Pacers play physical basketball.
They're just picking on the Atlanta Hawks, making them look soft (and Atlanta preferred to match-up against Indiana as oppose to the Heat?--Ed).
"We naturally just play physical,"
George said. "It wasn't like, 'Hey, let's play physical, let's retaliate.' That's
just how we play. That's how we approach the game. We just have
to keep playing how we play."
How
physical did they get? Well they had 10 steals and 5 blocks. George accounting for four steals and one block. He plays DEFENSE people! To me, he's a better player
than Granger. Him and the Pacers simply make the game harder for opponents.
Just ask Atlanta, now down 0-2 in their first round playoff series. They play physical, tough, over-powering defense. They're a #3 seed
for a reason. Then, when they get their crowd behind them, its just harder to
beat them at Bankers Life Fieldhouse (30-11 at
home). They were ranked first in rebounds in
the regular season and second in points allowed. I can't reiterate this enough: they play DEFENSE people!
How
did George fare against the Hawks? Well, in
their first two playoff games of the series, he messed around and got a triple-double in the
first game and followed that up on Wednesday with 27
points, eight rebounds, three assists, four steals and a block.
George, also made his first All-Star appearence this past season. Yeah,
I would say a franchise player. It's no wonder Larry
Bird won the Executive of the Year Award last season. He knew how to build
a team. Putting George around a solid point guard in George Hill and a big
body in Roy Hibbert in the post. Thanks to George, they are a solid team and
will be for years with George leading them. A former bulldog, that I can remember.
No comments:
Post a Comment