Paul George Is Understandably Displeased About New Role With Indiana Pacers

Paul George putts at the organization’s annual golf outing. On Thursday, head coach Frank Vogel said George will start at power forward on opening night.

“I’m not thrilled on it”, George said about the change on 1070 The Fan, Buckner.

“[We’ll] start camp, see how camp goes”. As the season goes, it might be better for me to just be at my regular position.

But keeping George in there at power forward for the season is risky.

It makes a certain amount of sense to try George at the four in specific situations, but using him as the starter there is a completely new move for a team that once stood staunchly against the small movement, starting David West and Roy Hibbert in the frontcourt. The Pacers believe George’s ball-handling and shooting will give their offense a new dynamic without hurting them much on defense. Indiana’s goal is to score a lot more points per game and play at a faster tempo next season. Ellis, Miles, and George can all create their own shot and if Hill can limit his turnovers, then it could work offensively for the Pacers this winter.

“I pride myself on being a ballplayer first and foremost, but there’s a difference playing the 4”, George said, “and I know that’s the way the league is going, having stretch 4s and perimeter-oriented big men, but those guys have been doing that for years and have size on me and strength on me”. It’s not really the concern for one game. “They put on weight, [begin] lacking physical attributes as far as being quick, so I don’t necessarily feel the need to play a different position, especially coming back into a new season and starting fresh again”. Just not sure of how it’s going to take it. “I don’t think I’m at that point in my career where I should be changing positions”, George continued.

A broken foot kept George out for nearly the entire season, as the Pacers somehow managed to stay in touch with the playoffs until the very end, before falling off with a returning George, who couldn’t do much. And while he’s open to helping the team, you can understand why he’d be hesitant to move out of his natural position. He came off the bench, played limited minutes and missed a dunk in his season debut.

Note: VAVEL-USA will have an article in the near future describing in detail how playing Paul George at power forward will benefit the Indiana Pacers. “I think guys do that later in their career”. That’s the main area for power forwards to work in, at least traditionally. Hill is also the better rebounder of the two centers, but you don’t lose much in the way of rebounding with Mahinmi.

When healthy, Paul George is a top-five talent in the NBA, but kept in mind he is coming off a gruesome leg injury suffered last offseason playing for the US Men’s National Team in Las Vegas. He looks stronger. He stops better.

Before the injury, George was one of the league’s rising stars. The typical power forward is not athletic or skilled enough to defend a player like George on the perimeter. But these are grinding, exhausting tasks. That also means he won’t be matching up against big guys down low, but instead against the biggest threat on the other team, regardless of position.

The Fresno State product then expressed some skepticism about the decision.