How dare you Paul George?!
It wasn’t supposed to be like this. The Indiana Pacers were meant to be worse than they actually are right now.
What are you doing Paul George? How dare you to look like a super-human? They told us you were not going to come back the same after that scary leg injury you had. We, NBA fans, had to change our mind-set because of you and your Pacers who made us lower our expectations. We’ve seen you battling LeBron in the Conference Finals two years row. (Matter of fact, Birdman saw you pretty close in those meetings.) You and your triple doubles as soon as the Playoffs started. And then you break your leg so bad and they told us you’re not going to come back the same again anymore.
You Pacers, you went back to a losing record of 38-44 without George. You readjust your goals, expectations and roster by letting David West go (well, we all know you actually didn’t let him go, it just suits me better for the narrative purpose right now), you let Roy Hibbert go and you went younger instead with Myles Turner at the draft. It was clear. You’re not fighting for a top spot anymore.
You PG, you tested us during the pre-season saying
“I want to be the MVP”
this year and we were like “Ok, we love your mind-set and all PG but let’s face it…”… and now with just 15 games you’re averaging career highs in points (26.4), rebounds (8.4), assists (4.6), field goal percentage (45.8%) and three point percentage (45.1%)?!!
What’s happening? You are on a 5 game winning streak. This past week, you won all the three games and you, Paul George, how dare you? You averaged 37.3 points, 6.7 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.3 steals, while shooting 54.7 percent from the field, 57.1 percent on 3-pointers and 86.7 percent on free throws during that stretch which made you the East Conference Player of the week(!!!). You scored 40 points and hit 7-of-8 3s against Washington on Nov. 24.
Who are you?
Well, truth to be told, no one actually lied to us. They said you’d probably never be the same again and they were right. You came back even better.
Even your coach is having difficulties explaining what planet you’re from Paul George.
“It’s tough to quantify in words,”
Vogel said.
“I mean, he just does so much. He’s capable of going for 40, carrying the offensive load and being the best defensive player on either team. He’s a special player and the best two-way player in the game. We’re a different team with him out there.”
Yes you are Frank. You’re ranked 2nd in the East right now when everyone was predicting you to not even make the Playoffs. You are a different team with him out there.
And you PG, how do you feel?
“I feel like I’m better. I think a year away from the game, you learn—you grow—regardless if I was on the court or not. You just get a chance to really observe and be a student of the game at that point when you’re sitting out. So I think that was the little bit that I needed, the push that I needed. I worked hard that summer, going into the season. Granted I got hurt, but I feel like that year away was what I needed to just learn.”
Just please keep exceeding our expectations, the league needs you.
