Paul George putts at the organization’s annual golf outing.
Advertisement
The Indiana Pacers have lots of things to look forward to once this season begins as not only will All-Star Paul George return to the line-up, new faces are expected to make a name for themselves as well.
When Buckner spoke with George about the change, he did not seem too excited about the idea.
“[We’ll] start camp, see how camp goes. I’m open to it so I just want to see how it goes”.
With Pacers head coach Frank Vogel saying that George is going to start at power forward, the Pacers seem fully committed to this style of play.
It remains to be seen just how much power forward George plays.
Without George, the Pacers missed the playoffs for the first time in Vogel’s 4 ½-year tenure in Indiana and Bird rebuilt the team to conform with the trendy smaller, up-tempo style. While it’s refreshing that George is willing to sacrifice his comfort for what the Pacers’ brass feels is the best move for the team, fans can only hope that this risky change by Bird and Vogel will truly pay off. Nothing less of a sensational year from George will be able to vindicate Bird’s latest gamble.
“It’s just being outmatched strength-wise with guys at the four spot is really the only concern”, the former Most Improved Player stated. It’s not really the concern for one game. “They put on weight, [begin] lacking physical attributes as far as being quick, so I don’t necessarily feel the need to play a different position, especially coming back into a new season and starting fresh again. If it works, it works, if it doesn’t, let’s get me back to my position and let’s get me back to playing on the perimeter”. But we’ll see. But again, I could very much end up loving it, so it’s all up in the air. Hill is also the better rebounder of the two centers, but you don’t lose much in the way of rebounding with Mahinmi.
“An idea on paper is to have a starting lineup of George Hill, Monta Ellis, C.J”. He was a star small forward during the early stages of his career with the Boston Celtics, but ended up moving to power forward and dominating opposing defenses. He looks stronger. He stops better. George should thrive in it – Ellis/George pick and rolls could be a killer set for the Pacers – but there are still going to be growing pains that have nothing to with his leg. As a four, and playing with a ball dominant guard like Ellis, George’s role is going to change. That also means he won’t be matching up against big guys down low, but instead against the biggest threat on the other team, regardless of position. According to Basketball-Reference’s position estimates, he’s spent 99 percent of his entire career at small forward or shooting guard, including the postseason. As the league goes small, a premium has been placed on having versatile athletes at traditional big man positions who can operate from either the perimeter or the post.
Advertisement
George, more than a year removed from surgery on his broken right leg, told ESPN.com on Thursday that he “isn’t too thrilled” about changing positions but is “open” to make the change if it’s what’s best for the team. “I think you’re going to see it’s like night and day between Paul (No.) 24 and Paul (No.) 13”.
