Clippers’ Paul George scores with honest analysis

3 years ago 297

Paul George tin play immoderate gorgeous basketball. He besides tin beryllium beauteous artful erstwhile he’s talking hoops.

The Clippers’ prima kickstarted his 2021-22 play precisely wherever helium near disconnected past postseason, with a 29-point, 11-rebound, six-assist night. That line, well, it lines up precisely with his 29-point, 11-rebound, six-assist averages implicit the last 8 games of the playoffs, erstwhile helium stepped to the forefront aft Kawhi Leonard suffered a season-ending torn anterior cruciate ligament.

But, connected Thursday, Steph Curry was adjacent much spectacular, finishing with 45 points and 10 rebounds arsenic his Warriors edged the Clippers, 115-113 astatine Chase Center.

Afterward, erstwhile George was asked astir Curry’s performance, helium applauded it. And not successful begrudging platitudes, but with an aficionado’s appreciation.

“He’s truthful good, he’s conscionable the implicit bundle offensively,” George said, via Zoom. “So bully astatine shooting the 3 but conscionable truthful bully astatine getting unfastened for layups. He’s mastered however to get escaped without dribbling a ball.

“He’s conscionable truthful elusive and speedy it’s hard to – 1 2nd you look distant and he’s gone oregon you’re not attached to him, he’s gone. It conscionable takes, honestly, a full 5 players to conscionable person an consciousness of wherever he’s at, due to the fact that 1 measurement and he’s retired of there.

“And helium shoots it truthful speedy you can’t let him to get free. So that’s conscionable what it is erstwhile helium gets going similar that, you got to conscionable assemblage him and effort to unit him to play into his body. You got to effort to deterioration him out. We didn’t bash it good capable tonight, but again, it’s conscionable bully things to instrumentality with us.”

Last season, George raved successful akin item astir different difficult-to-defend guard: Memphis’ Ja Morant.

“He’s conscionable amusive to watch,” George said aft the Clippers got blown retired by the Grizzlies successful February, successful a crippled successful which Morant scored 16 points and dished 7 assists.

“There’s nary different mentation for it, Ja’s conscionable amusive to watch. He’s truthful diversion and truthful gifted, he’s truthful agile. I mean, I could comparison him to similar Derrick Rose, with his explosiveness and quality to conscionable displacement his body, determination his assemblage successful the air. You gotta comparison it to idiosyncratic similar D-Rose.

“He conscionable makes item plays aft item plays. And conscionable makes it look casual retired connected determination connected the court.”

"He's conscionable amusive to watch. There's nary different explanation. He's truthful athletic, gifted, agile. I could comparison him to similar Derrick Rose with his explosiveness & quality to displacement his assemblage & determination successful the air. He conscionable makes item plays aft item plays."

Paul George connected @JaMorant. pic.twitter.com/uWL7oSaPqZ

— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) February 26, 2021

It truthful happens that successful their location opener Saturday, the Clippers volition look Morant and his Grizzlies, who travel roaring into Staples Center aft a 132-121 season-opening triumph implicit Cleveland. Morant scored 37 points successful 34 minutes successful that one, a sensational springboard into his 3rd NBA season.

George doesn’t ever talk truthful glowingly, of course.

Asked astir the Phoenix Suns successful April, George was blunt: “I don’t attraction who they are oregon what they’re doing.” About Bruce Brown, the Nets’ guardant who irritated George successful a gathering successful February: “Just got to ticker a dude that can’t shoot chopped each game. We got to conscionable find wherever he’s astatine … helium won’t beryllium a problem.”

About irksome officiating?

After a nonaccomplishment successful Dallas, George aired his grievances with his perceived missed calls: “It’s insane that we’re not getting these calls,” and the NBA fined him $35,000 for saying so.

Still, George again proved plentifulness articulate connected the taxable erstwhile it arose Thursday night.

“Draymond (Green) got 9 of them (free-throw attempts), truthful honestly, I don’t cognize what helium did that I wasn’t doing,” George said aft the loss, successful which helium changeable nary escaped throws contempt driving into the overgarment 16 times, per nba.com/stats, and going 5 for 7 astatine the rim – compared, for what it’s worth, with Green going 3 for 3 from adjacent scope on 3 drives.

“Honestly, I don’t cognize what helium did that I wasn’t doing,” continued George, who was assessed a method foul for complaining astir a no-call. “I drove the shot much than helium did to the paint, took much interaction than him going into the paint. I don’t cognize however helium gets awarded with 9 of them.

“It’s conscionable crazy, similar you get T’d up, I’m getting deed successful the face, smacked successful the face. I changeable a 3, I get smacked connected the elbow. That is conscionable brainsick to me, but it’s thing new, it’s thing new. I conscionable got to bash a amended occupation of staying wrong the game. It is what it is, they’re going to bash what they do.”

And by George, the Clippers’ starring antheral is going to telephone it similar helium sees it.