Here's [ur=http://www.indystar.com/story/sports/columnists/gregg-doyel/2017/02/16/doyel-lets-talk-pacers-paul-george-problem/98018218/l]Greg Doyell's article published 2/16/17[/url] Two points of interest
1) On PG13's refusal to play PF:
The Pacers, who enter the All-Star break on a six-game losing streak, are missing their top two power forwards: Thaddeus Young and Lavoy Allen. Because of that, they’re playing two guys — Kevin Seraphin starting, C.J. Miles off the bench — ill-equipped for the position. Seraphin is big enough, but too slow. Miles is quick enough, but too small.
Meanwhile, Paul George is just right. He’s not merely a potential power forward — he’s the prototype in today’s smaller, sleeker NBA that demands a combination of size, skill and speed from that slot. Paul George has all three.
But he won’t play the four.
George refused to do it last season, complicating Larry Bird’s offseason remake of what had been one of the league’s bigger, slower lineups. And McMillan indicated before Thursday’s game that George has declined to do it this season even now, with the Pacers missing two power forwards. This is what McMillan told me when I asked him Thursday: Any thought, on an emergency basis, of putting Paul at the four?
“We’ve tried that, but Paul is …” McMillan said, then paused, unsure how to finish that sentence. Paul is … what?
McMillan tried again.
“Um, we’ve tried that some — but no,” he said. “I wish it was that easy, and it really should be, but it’s not.”
It really should be that easy? Man, that’s as close as you’ve ever heard any of George’s bosses — McMillan, Bird, former coach Frank Vogel — say what’s on everyone’s mind:
Paul George is putting himself ahead of the team.
2) On PG13 being critical of Nate McMillan (also related to the PF issue:
George does have some advice for his coach, however. After the Pacers surrendered 18 3-pointers in a 113-104 loss Wednesday to Cleveland, George offered up these suggestions to Nate Taylor, IndyStar’s Pacers Insider:
“Maybe it’s changing schemes up in how we guard these spread teams,” George told my team’s Nate, not his team’s Nate. “This is a new league, a new NBA. I think we might have to go a different route … as opposed to trying to make changes during games where we’re kind of not really sure how to guard something.”
Not sure who George was taking a shot at there, McMillan or Pacers defensive coordinator Dan Burke. Maybe both? Whatever. His next “suggestion” seemed to be aimed at Larry Bird:
"I think,” Paul George opined, “we (should) just build for where the league is headed.”
You mean, like moving the team’s 6-9 perimeter sniper to power forward? The Pacers tried that last season, Paul.
You said no.
McMillan, by the way, had no idea before Thursday’s game that his best player had offered a coaching criticism the night before. I asked him about George’s comments, and got this in response:
“He said what now?” McMillan asked. “He didn’t come to me about that.”
Meanwhile, Nate Taylor of the same paper wrote about the Pacer's slide into the All-Star Break in his 2/16/17 article:
Just a summary and some quotes, no biggie
Then another writer, Nate Newell tweets this morning on it:
George is under contract through 2018, and then becomes a restricted FA. He may be eligible for the designated veteran extension this offseason IF he makes an all-nba team (allows for 5yr extension starting at 35% max). It's not a lock he gets that, since Lebron, Kawhi, Dray, KD have pretty legitimate cases for four spots (of the six available forward spots). Giannis is getting a spot this year for sure. He'd need to beat Griffin, possibly Anthony Davis if he's put as an F, maybe Gordon Hayward. There's enough competition that it's not a lock. Without that eligibility, Indiana's financial advantage is diminished. They could still pay him the most when he hits free agency but you don't want a guy hitting free agency.
All this being said, I look forward to PG13 as GSW's Iguodala replacement, so have a good day.
