After first preseason game, Paul George: "I don’t know if I’m cut out for a four spot"
Only five days into training camp, and Paul George has made up his mind.
He does not view himself as a power forward.
On Saturday night after the Indiana Pacers debuted an expectedly sloppy slice of small ball, George, fresh from the cold tub and wrapped under towels, looked relaxed in expressing an uncomfortable truth.
He does not enjoy the defensive rigors of his new position.
Since April, George has heard about his role in the Pacers’ evolution from his team president, his coach and anyone else promoting the principles of playing with four wings. But no matter how often the Pacers say this style is worth pursuing, George has responded the same way.
He does not like this. Period.
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“I don’t know if I’m cut out for a 4 spot,” George said after the Pacers’ 110-105 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans, a game in which he started matched up against 6-11 All-Star Anthony Davis.
“I don’t know if this is my position. We’ll sit and watch tape and I’m sure I’ll talk with coach (Frank Vogel). I’ll talk with Larry (Bird) as well to get both their inputs on how the first game went, but … I’m still not comfortable with it regardless of the situation. It’s still something I have to adjust to or maybe not. Or maybe it’s something we can go away from.”
Since July, George has tried balancing the art of being an on-board, team-first guy with his reluctance in playing power forward. Even days before the start of training camp, George said he wasn’t “thrilled” about the move. Then Monday, he was “still trying to wrap my mind around” the role – a line he used once again after the first exhibition game.
So, for anyone hoping this was just a summertime grievance, that he would fall in love after recognizing how easy it would be to score like he did on Saturday night with 18 points in 24 minutes, understand this: Paul George’s discontent isn’t easily going away.
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George, long, lean and listed at 6-9, has the body of a small forward. Even more so — and this is the worrisome part for anyone selling the dream of positionless basketball — George has the mind of a wing. Accordingly, it’s hard to wrap your mind around banging with bigs when you’ve spent your basketball life soaring from the perimeter.
“Defensively, it’s rough. It’s rough,” George said, using repetition for emphasis as he often does. “It’s an adjustment because I’m not used to doing some of the things out there and I’m exerting more energy, it feels like — from having to hedge on the ball screen, get back down low to a shot going up and now having to box out. So I don’t know. I don’t know.”
Small ball can be dynamic and George should certainly recognize this more so after Saturday. In the first quarter, George knocked down his first four shots – two drives to the paint followed by consecutive 3-pointers – as he matched up against Davis, an otherworldly talent but just like any other power forward in this league who will have problems slowing George down.
Before 2 minutes expired in the game, Davis could do little but look as a bystander as George snaked around a screen set by center Ian Mahinmi and attacked the wide-open lane for the dunk. After one quarter, the damage done by the Pacers’ up-tempo offense: 28 points – but it also allowed the Pelicans to score 36.
“I mean, you put four wings out there, at times we’re going to kick some ass,” George said. “We’re going to look good at times. But then you know, there’s going to be times when it’s not going to look so good.”
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The not so good happened on the defensive end. The Pacers would send a second defender to the perimeter ballhandler, often with George flashing over and remember, he also had the responsibility for defending an All-Star. Early in the first quarter, the Pacers showed slight pressure on Jrue Holiday, who passed the ball to Davis. Even though George turned to recover on Davis, he had enough space to knock down the 13-foot jump shot. Later in the quarter, George looked undersized beneath the rim when Davis powered up for the putback dunk, a strong reflection of how the Pelicans controlled the boards with 13 offensive rebounds through the first half.
“Playing the 3 spot, I always had the luxury of helping the bigs rebound,” George recalled.
Through his four completed seasons with Indiana, George had grown accustomed to a shot going up and letting the bigs battle and box out. Then with his athleticism and quickness, George would swoop in and grab the rebound. Not so now.
“Can’t do that at the 4 spot,” George said. “These guys are strong, they’re big. It’s almost like I’m just trying to keep them on my back but they got me in size. That’s the toughest part.”
As has been his custom through all this, George remembered to behave as a good employee – not completely burying his bosses’ plans. After all, the face of the franchise has to toe the company line.
“I don’t want to put a shadow over it, it’s only game one,” George said. “It’s new to everybody … just got to see where we go from here.”
But let’s be clear, because George has been clear throughout this developing soap opera: He wants to play his natural position. And he alluded to an interesting subplot: He’s not the only one in that locker room uneasy about the new offense.
“We’re playing around with this style now and trying to figure some things out, but it’s not just myself,” George said. “Four other guys out there, it’s an adjustment for them. We all talk. A couple other guys are uncomfortable with how we’re going to run it and things like that. It’s new to everyone.”
So what does George want? While talking with reporters, George was asked directly if he’s saying he wants the Pacers to play with a second big in a more traditional style of play. In a telling way, George looked up and smiled.
“I’m not saying it, but that definitely felt more comfortable,” he said.
More comfortable when Vogel moved him to small forward and the Pacers played with two bigs. George has played like that during his entire career and five days into training camp can’t change that mindset. However, that mind may never change.
Call Star reporter Candace Buckner at (317) 444-6121. Follow her on Twitter: @CandaceDBuckner.