Pacers’ poor performance is ‘on me,’ George says
INDIANAPOLIS— As the cries grow louder for coach Frank Vogel to wave a wand over his underperforming rotation and somehow find a magical adjustment for Game 4 against the Toronto Raptors, the series’ best player has decided on a more practical approach.
The biggest adjustment for Paul George is already staring back at him in the mirror.
“Everyone makes that commitment to do whatever it takes . . . for their team to win,” George said Friday afternoon. “That’s the commitment we need from each individual on this team, starting with myself. I’ve got to do a better job with how I approach as well. I thought I did a poor job last night. So it’s on me. It starts with me and it’s got to trickle down through everyone in this locker room.”
George leads the 2016 playoffs with a 28.7-point scoring average and owns the second-highest usage rate (33.8 per cent) — which measures the percentage of a team’s possessions a player uses while in the game — behind Oklahoma City’s superstar Kevin Durant. George thinks he must depend less on himself.
“Trust my teammates,” George said, responding to how he plans to lead the Pacers while trailing 2-1 to the Raptors. “I don’t think I did a good enough job last game of trusting my teammates (and) allowing them to make plays and allowing them to be aggressive.”
Before George shared his thoughts with reporters, Vogel addressed the throng. As at every moment of crisis this season — and dropping back-toback playoff games does constitute a developing dumpster fire — Vogel was asked whether he planned to make a lineup change. It’s the same question he gets whenever the Pacers face trouble and you can count on Vogel giving the same answer: “We’ll see tomorrow.”
By design, Vogel’s response says nothing. But later, when asked how the Pacers can activate a lifeless offence that’s averaging 90.6 points per game, Vogel’s answer revealed much more.
“We’ve got to pass the ball. We’ve got to trust,” said Vogel, whose words George would later echo and edit the plural into a singular challenge.
“We’re in attack mode. I like that we’re attacking the rim,” Vogel continued. “We’re not finishing at a high rate at the rim. We are getting to the free-throw line, but the pass makes the game easy.”
On Thursday night George played nearly 42 minutes and finished 6of-19 from the floor. He also earned12 free-throw attempts. Those drives, aggressive moves and subsequent foul calls do not count as official shot attempts, so George clearly had the ball in his hands more than any other Pacer during the 101-85 defeat.
“Last thing I want to do is be ball dominant and not have guys around me feel comfortable enough to make plays,” George said. “I think it’s on me to make sure they’re comfortable and I have to trust them. I have to trust them that they’re going to bring it.”