Paul George’s opener a dominant sign
After the anticipated blockbuster flopped, Clippers forward Paul George has set out to write a more compelling sequel.
As he showed in the Clippers’ 116-109 season-opening win over the Lakers on Tuesday at Staples Center, George vowed to fix some issues that plagued him during his first season in a Los Angeles uniform.
George had 33 points while shooting 13 of 18 from the field and 5 of 8 from 3point range, a strong start after an inconsistent 2019-20 season.
“Just being assertive, being aggressive,” George said.
George reported feeling fully healthy after missing 24 games last season following offseason surgery on both of his shoulders.
“I applied the work I put in this offseason,” George said. “It’s not going to be pretty every night. Tonight I got it going. I was able to show up big time for my team.”
George admitted he felt more at ease playing in an empty NBA arena instead of an empty venue on a quarantined campus in the Orlando, Florida, area.
He has talked about struggling with mental health and has since enjoyed a more conventional game-day routine. George also said he faced tactical challenges that included handling the depth perception in a smaller venue.
“There’s not big LED lights behind the backboards. It feels more natural,” George said. “It’s different not having fans. But it feels more natural.”
The Clippers hope this performance is a sign of things to come, but they are aware of the Lakers’ letdown after an emotional ring ceremony and that this is Game 1 of 72.
Just over two months after the Clippers squandered a 3-1 playoff series lead to the Nuggets in the Western Conference finals partly because of George’s shortcomings, they have become impressed with George’s determination to rectify them.
“His focus has been great with the way he’s been working, and the way he’s been leading has been great,” Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said. “We just have to continue to keep building.
“We don’t want to be a front-running team where when things are going great we’re cheering for one another. When things are going bad, we want to do the same.”
So when the Clippers held a 56-54 halftime lead after a 22-point cushion, Lue implored George to play more aggressively.
Lue observed that George mostly looked to involve his teammates and ensure consistent ball movement. George then opened the third quarter scoring 15 points on 6 of 6 shooting.
“I love Lue. He allowed me to play, make mistakes and continue to play,” George said. “My job is to go out there and produce and play my hardest.”
“Him making those shots helped us. But the big thing is when the Lakers started scoring the ball, he stayed positive and we started getting stops,” said Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard, who added 26 points on 10 of 26 shooting. “That led to Paul getting a rhythm on the offensive end.”
In fairness, Leonard said that George exhibited leadership qualities last season even when shots did not fall. He observed that George “is making my job easier by talking to people and giving instructions on missed assignments or if we’re not running the plays right.”
Still, George has cemented a reputation for delivering strong regular-season performances only to shrink in playoff moments. That played out last season when George averaged 18.5 points on 36% shooting in the first-round series against Dallas. George then had only 10 points on 4 of 16 shooting and five turnovers in the Game 7 loss to Denver.
Shortly before training camp started, George admitted on the “All The Smoke” podcast that he felt former Clippers coach Doc Rivers used him more offthe-ball than he would have liked.
“We’ll put him in spots where he’s comfortable. We’re going to give him the ball in situations where he’s used to making plays,” Lue said. “That’s his job to do that. But that being said, he had a great iso game tonight and thought we could force some mismatches. The next step is when teams try to double-team or try to do something different, he has to make his teammates better.”
George has a whole season to prove whether he can do that consistently. At least for one game, George outlined the blueprint.
“It’s not like I’m not going to be aggressive because I’m passing,” George said. “I’m looking to break the team down, look to get in the paint and make plays from there. The shot is open for me. If it’s a one-on-one situation I’m going to take it. But it’s just reading.”