The future is bright in Indiana, and rightfully so. They
have perhaps one of the best coaches in the league with a dynamic defensive
mindset and effective, slow-paced offensive strategy. They locked up a newly nationally
recognized defensive post ace in Roy Hibbert who is blessed with good health
and looks to be a defensive anchor for years to come. They have a good bench...
okay I’m getting carried away; their bench is awful.
However, the most promising component of the Pacers’ success
going forward is now widely viewed as having Paul George on the books through
the 2014-2015 season. If that’s not good enough, his rookie contract is dirt-cheap
costing Indiana only 10.3 million dollars for three years (this year through
2014-2015 assuming they give him the qualifying offer). After that year it will
be max contract time, presuming he suffers no significant injuries and his
performance doesn’t completely tank. And a max contract is certainly
appropriate; George’s breakthrough performance over the last few years has aided
his ascendance from a risky mid-1st round pick with two first names to
the NBA’s most improved player and 3rd team all-NBA this year.
So now we need to discuss his role going forward in what
remains of this year’s playoffs, and what exactly he needs to improve to truly
make the jump in the following years.
George’s value on the court stems initially from nothing
more than his palpable advantage over his backup, Sam Young. Young has been
clueless on the floor throughout the playoffs, indicative of the overall
incompetence of the Indiana bench. However, George is certainly more valuable
than Vogel’s default favor of him over the Pacers’ bench would suggest. At the very least he presents himself as a viable
three-and-D option that can space the floor on offense, and defend any type of
guard in the NBA with his length, size, and materialized skill and awareness.
But versatility is key here for Indiana, as George is
nowhere near being a consistent and proficient
scoring option offensively. This isn’t a knock on George, but more of a harsh
reminder of how skilled a player must be offensively to be elite as well as of
the time it takes for a player to fully develop. Shot creation, ball handling,
post game, spot up shooting, pick and roll game, shooting off the dribble,
finishing... etc. etc. all comprise the arsenal of a skilled offensive player,
and while George is ascending in the ranks, he still has a bit to go.
Even among this criticism, this problem is a good one to
have for George; he certainly has all the tools (athleticism, size, wingspan,
court vision) to succeed as a dynamic and clear first offensive option for
Indiana going forward. But he’s not going to develop into LeBron James
overnight, and Frank Vogel will continue to use him in this year’s playoffs as
he has been, by limiting his pick and roll touches and using him more as a pass
first offensive option as well as an adequate floor spacer.
As stated above, George has developed into a versatile defensive
option, and clearly the most suitable wing defender to match up with LeBron in
this series. Yes, LeBron has still asserted his dominance in the series thus
far, but George has done a decent job relatively, and is certainly on the short
list of players a coach would reluctantly match up against the flying death
machine. George is still prone to mental lapses, over committing (most notably
the end of game 1), and over helping, but these errors always become magnified
when a young player is abruptly tossed in the spotlight. It’ll take a few
years, but George should develop into an Iguodala-type wing defender. George
has done a terrific job executing Frank Vogel’s suffocating pick and roll
defensive system by attaching himself to the ball handler to prevent a switch
endangering the Indiana D.
This was a terrific play by both George and Vogel, who had
recognized the LeBron-Chalmers screen Miami is so effective, used and forced
George to stick with James all the way to the hoop. Similarly, George’s counterpart
Sam Young is an atrocious defender, so much that Vogel can only hope for the
Indiana defense to tread water during the precious minutes PG sits.
On this play, Young allows the 58-year-old Ray Allen to get
all the way to the rim on a pick and roll. This is pathetic; Young didn’t even
have the awareness to prevent Allen from using the screen in the first place.
This lineup actually did feature Paul
George on the floor, but if Young can’t stop Ray Allen I don’t see how he could
stagger LeBron.
So it’s clear that PG has value defensively, but how exactly
is he integrated into Indiana’s offense, and how effective is he? George’s
shots result mostly from the pick and roll and transition, via synergy.
Transition baskets are ideal for someone with his size, athleticism, and
finishing ability, but thrusting George into an abundance of pick and rolls is
risky because of his shaky ball handling. This
is why Vogel temporarily banned George from splitting pick and rolls
earlier this season because of his turnover vulnerability.
This is why it’s best for him to be more of a second
offensive option for now, behind West and Hibbert. There’s no harm in this; he
can certainly get some transition points even against Miami, and is a terrific
at scoring off of a back door cut. He’ll also serve well as a spot up shooter,
and despite his drastic decline in 3pt% through the playoffs, which likely
won’t sustain.
Another crucial element to George’s offensive game is his
passing ability, which can be unleashed in both half court and transition
offenses. George is terrific at making a drop pass when Miami blitzes him in
the pick and roll as shown below.
It would almost be smarter for Miami to not blitz the pick
and roll when George is designated as the primary ball handler because he is so
proficient at threading the needle on these passes.
George certainly has to improve if he wants to be the
Pacers’ consistent number one option, and if he hopes to lead this team to a
championship. The Heat will be the favorite for as long as they have LeBron,
and George needs to prove he can consistently lead his team to victory to climb
to the top. George’s pick and roll game looks okay on the surface, but it’s
clear to see how turnover prone he is when he starts aggressively attacking the
basket.
George’s ball handling needs significant work, but this
should be no problem. He’s only 23 years old, and has plenty of time to work on
his game. Him and Hibbert together should pull Indiana into Eastern Conference
contenders year after year, and if he can create offense like he did last night
in this clip...
Watch out.
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