Indiana Pacers: Is Moving Paul George To PF The Right Move?

By Colby Giacubeno | Sep 26, 2015

Apr 5, 2015; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Indiana Pacers forward Paul George (13) brings the ball up court against the Miami Heat at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports /

Indiana Pacers‘ head coach Frank Vogel said Thursday that he has his starting lineup to begin the regular season, according to Matt Kyger of the Indianapolis Star. That starting lineup includes George Hill, Monta Ellis, C.J. Miles, Paul George, and Ian Mahinmi. Take notice that there is no true power forward included in that list of players.

That’s because the Pacers plan to have George play power forward this season in a small-ball lineup, something that has been talked about the majority of the summer, and grew more once they lost David West to San Antonio in free agency.

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George hasn’t been very welcoming of the idea, though. But what matters is what the coach believes and not only Vogel, but even team president Larry Bird finds that changing George’s position will benefit his production. It seems as if everyone in the organization is on board about the decision to play small-ball, but there is one problem. George continues to be hesitant.

He made it evident once again when he was on USA TODAY‘s NBA A to Z podcast:

"“I’m not too thrilled on it, but it could change the more comfortable I get at the position. But we’€™ll see. But again, I could very much end up loving it, so it’€™s all up in the air. I’€™m open to the position.”€"

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Taking a look at the decision from a broad point of view, George will cause mismatches on the offensive side of the floor every night against pretty much any team in the league. He is simply too quick and athletic for the majority, if not all, of the power forwards. He wouldn’t be utilized as a normal stretch-4, which usually looks to space the floor by knocking down threes.

George can knock down the deep ball when called upon, but if the opposing team doesn’t adjust their lineup and sticks a normal power forward on him, it’s almost guaranteed that George will beat him off the dribble heading to the basket.

The defensive side is where George and the Pacers may find some problems. George is 6’9″ and 220 pounds, which isn’t exactly ideal for battling on the block throughout the course of a 48-minute game with players like Anthony Davis, Blake Griffin, and LaMarcus Aldridge. Throughout his five-year career, George has spent little time guarding big men in the post.

In fact, the only time he would be caught guarding a big in the post would be to a defensive breakdown or a lack of communication in pick-and-roll sets.

Another thing to keep in mind is the impact George’s body would take guarding a bigger player night in and night out, especially considering he still is fresh in terms of minutes from his injury that kept him out for all but six games last season. Again on the USA TODAY podcast, George continued on his questions of whether the position change is a good move.

"“€œIt’€™s just being outmatched strength-wise with guys at the four spot is really the only concern. It’€™s not really the concern for one game. It’€™s the concern just over the course of a season just how my body would take it, especially coming off the injury that I had and a whole year of rehabbing. Just not sure of how it’€™s going to take it. (We’€™ll) start camp, see how camp goes.”"

So, is moving George to power forward the right move? In an immediate answer, yes. The league is going through such a change since teams witnessed Golden State‘s success with small-ball. There aren’t many teams that can run the system Golden State does and have the success from beyond the arc, but it is worth a try to experiment with especially early on in the season.

If worst comes to worst, the Pacers can throw in Jordan Hill at the power forward and move George back to his normal position at small forward.

For now, it is good to see whether or not playing George at the 4 can be a blessing in disguise. The only thing the Pacers can do is wait and see what lineup is most effective to help boost them back into the playoff conversation.

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