Paul George is ready to prove he can lead the Oklahoma City Thunder when it matters the most, in the playoffs, when the game on the line
To say the Oklahoma City Thunder star Paul George is an NBA MVP candidate is an understatement. He is averaging a career best 26.2 points, 8.2 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 2.2 steals a game for the 21-11 Thunder who sits one game behind the Denver Nuggets for the best record in the Western Conference.
George, averaging career bests in points, rebounds, assists and steals, is a remarkable achievement considering he suffered a compound leg fracture a little over four years ago during a Team USA scrimmage. At the time, many fans and media members were worried that he would not be the same dominant player he were before the injury.
After George recovered from the injury, he constantly received criticism from some in the media despite averaging over 21 points a game in his last three seasons.
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For many in the media, George was at fault for the Indiana Pacers losing in the first round of the playoffs his last two seasons in Indiana despite him averaging 27.3 and 28 points a game in those series.
At one point some in the media started questioning rather George were a clutch player after the Pacers lost 109-108 to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round of the 2017 playoffs. In that loss, the media criticized George for passing the ball to C.J. Miles who missed a game winning shot at the buzzer.
The media wanted to know why George who were double teamed by the Cavs passed the ball instead of taking the potential game-winning shot. At the press conference, after the game, many in the media felt he blamed C.J. Miles for not giving the ball back to him by saying:
“C.J. took it upon himself. I’m confident in all my guys taking shots, that’s not the issue,” George said. “I talked to C.J. about that. In that situation like that, I gotta get the last shot.”
The real question many in the media wanted answered is why did George pass the ball to Miles in the first place. Former NBA player and host of Inside the NBA, Kenny Smith, said:
"“George, you see the clock running down. You see the double team coming. You have to be a better player to beat the double team and create a better shot for your teammates like LeBron James does”."
A few hours later, ESPN’s Tim MacMahon tweeted that George is an NBA worst 0 of 15 on potential go ahead shots in the final 20 seconds of games since he entered the league.
Per the Indy Star, George has only made 4 of 30 shots, 13.3 percent of potential game tying or winning shots in the final 30 seconds of the game during his career, which ranks him tied for 83rd place out of the 89 players who have attempted at least 10 such shots since he entered the league, but that was then.
Now George has gotten his swagger back and seems to be ready to prove his critics wrong when it counts the most, in the playoffs.