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Brandon Rush's five-game suspension to start the season has given rookie Paul George an opportunity to not only be part of the rotation but also give the Indiana Pacers coaches and fans a good look at the first-round pick.

George is averaging 6.7 points and 3.3 rebounds in 21 minutes a game as the first wing player off the bench.

"It's starting to get better," George said. "I'm not fully comfortable yet. I'm still trying to learn my shots and when to take them within the offense."

Link- http://www.indystar.com/article/2010110 ... dyStar.com

I will be very interested to see what kind of rotation JOB will have once Brandon Rush returns on the 9th of November? With Mike Dunleavy playing very well, and showing signs he may repeat his 2007-08 season and George obviously getting better and looking good out there, still will need court time. Rush will need to really be on top of his game if he's going to want to sniff the court.

O'B has said Rush will find himself the 4th wing playing for a coach who wants to play 3 of them. for some reason OB doesn't want to use a full second unit and only wants to rotate 3 wings in a shorter rotation.

^^That's pretty standard, actually.

Grang33r wrote:

Brandon Rush's five-game suspension to start the season has given rookie Paul George an opportunity to not only be part of the rotation but also give the Indiana Pacers coaches and fans a good look at the first-round pick.

George is averaging 6.7 points and 3.3 rebounds in 21 minutes a game as the first wing player off the bench.

"It's starting to get better," George said. "I'm not fully comfortable yet. I'm still trying to learn my shots and when to take them within the offense."

Link- http://www.indystar.com/article/2010110 ... dyStar.com

I will be very interested to see what kind of rotation JOB will have once Brandon Rush returns on the 9th of November? With Mike Dunleavy playing very well, and showing signs he may repeat his 2007-08 season and George obviously getting better and looking good out there, still will need court time. Rush will need to really be on top of his game if he's going to want to sniff the court.

Dunleavy's play hasn't blown me away to this point. He hasn't been that efficient and he still can't guard anyone. He's the fourth offensive option with the starting unit. Does it make sense that our fourth option can't defend? I think his defensive weakness could be more easily hidden with the second unit. Not sure where that leaves you with George and Rush>

His biggest contribution has been his rebounding, but Rush rebounds just as well. George still looks unsure out there on the court, and caught a bit of criticism some Quinn Buckner.

Yeah dunleavy has only been starting by default. One of the young guys better take it from him.

Miller4ever wrote:His biggest contribution has been his rebounding, but Rush rebounds just as well. George still looks unsure out there on the court, and caught a bit of criticism some Quinn Buckner.

I agree that George looks a little shakey. However until you see it costing you games I like getting him minutes.

One thing the Pacers organization has had some success with is player development. Granger is the prototype. Get him in the rotation as a rookie, hope he grows to where he can start in year 2 and get the breakout in year 3. It looks like Hibbert is following that development pattern. Some of his rookie minutes were painful to watch but today it appears to have been well worth it. If George has the same work ethic as Granger and Hibbert given his talent the investment of playing time for him this year could reap hudge rewards.

I'm actually anxious to see what Rush looks like this year. Where are we if he takes a quantum leap this year?

In a very, VERY good place. If (and I give him a 20% chance) he gets his head screwed on straight, we will almost be a lock to make the playoffs. Hell, if he's D'ing up well enough, we could even make some noise when we get there.

Dunleavy is a lot taller than Rush. he's taller than Granger and almost Josh McRobert's height although he's not as strong as either. he's also better than Rush at bringing the ball upcourt against pressure. I haven't seen George have to do that yet so I have no opinion there. he's also a very heady player. I think that may mean that it will take a little more time for Collison to get used to Mike's game. you don't just throw Mike the ball and expect him to make a one on one move with the ball. he makes good cuts without the ball though and the passers will learn to anticipate them and know what pass to make.

Wizop wrote:Dunleavy is a lot taller than Rush. he's taller than Granger and almost Josh McRobert's height although he's not as strong as either. he's also better than Rush at bringing the ball upcourt against pressure. I haven't seen George have to do that yet so I have no opinion there. he's also a very heady player. I think that may mean that it will take a little more time for Collison to get used to Mike's game. you don't just throw Mike the ball and expect him to make a one on one move with the ball. he makes good cuts without the ball though and the passers will learn to anticipate them and know what pass to make.

Dunleavy's "good" cuts don't make up for his terrible defense.

Indy2thaWindy wrote:

Wizop wrote:Dunleavy is a lot taller than Rush. he's taller than Granger and almost Josh McRobert's height although he's not as strong as either. he's also better than Rush at bringing the ball upcourt against pressure. I haven't seen George have to do that yet so I have no opinion there. he's also a very heady player. I think that may mean that it will take a little more time for Collison to get used to Mike's game. you don't just throw Mike the ball and expect him to make a one on one move with the ball. he makes good cuts without the ball though and the passers will learn to anticipate them and know what pass to make.

Dunleavy's "good" cuts don't make up for his terrible defense.

His lack of a post up game and overall strength largely makes his height irrelevant. And I wonder if you plugged Rush in for him would it make the offense that much less effective?

Miller4ever wrote:In a very, VERY good place. If (and I give him a 20% chance) he gets his head screwed on straight, we will almost be a lock to make the playoffs. Hell, if he's D'ing up well enough, we could even make some noise when we get there.

Completely agree. If Rush takes similar leap to what Hibbert has, then we get a competent wing offensively (ie. knock down shoots, take advantage of good match-ups), and then a much better defending wing that Dunleavey. That would really help. Rush has the potential to be a top wing defender imo, I am just not sure if he will ever get there..... fingers are crossed that this is the year.

A wing rotation of a comitted Rush, Granger, and George moving forward would be awesome...

However, the Rush that sometimes goes invisible would hurt our offense significantly I think compared to Dunleavey, who is a smart offensive player.

8305 wrote:

Miller4ever wrote:His biggest contribution has been his rebounding, but Rush rebounds just as well. George still looks unsure out there on the court, and caught a bit of criticism some Quinn Buckner.

I agree that George looks a little shakey. However until you see it costing you games I like getting him minutes.

One thing the Pacers organization has had some success with is player development. Granger is the prototype. Get him in the rotation as a rookie, hope he grows to where he can start in year 2 and get the breakout in year 3. It looks like Hibbert is following that development pattern. Some of his rookie minutes were painful to watch but today it appears to have been well worth it. If George has the same work ethic as Granger and Hibbert given his talent the investment of playing time for him this year could reap hudge rewards.

I'm actually anxious to see what Rush looks like this year. Where are we if he takes a quantum leap this year?

TAKE IT BACK NOW. *stares at Shawne Williams, David Harrison, and friends*
George is going to be fine. He's got all of the physicals tools, hes talented, he's had no past problems, he says all of the right things, and the most important, he was working with Danny shortly after being drafted. He looks a bit shaky because he went from the WAC to the NBA. He's only 20 years old, keep that in mind. I'm alreadydownfor putting him in front of Dunleavy. He is a much better fit with Granger, Collison, and Hibbert than Mike.

And hell no, Dunleavy doesnt look like hesrecreating 07-08, unless you're talking about his defense. He'd be an ideal 6th man for our team right now until Rush comes back and George gets more involved in theoffense.

I'm confident Rush will take his place in the starting lineup back in no time.
How can a motivated Rush not start in front of a defensive liability and a 20 old year rookie from Fresno State University?

Oh yeah, the coach...

Not everyone plays great defense!

Rush wont ever amount to anything, George will be the starter by All Star break

You never know, the suspension might be the best thing that ever happened to Rush. Maybe he's had a realization of how fleeting his NBA career could be, has his maturity moment, and comes out a new player. Let's hope.

Do players that receive extensions when they're suspended really learn their lesson? I hope so. To me it's like rewarding a child who is in timeout.