When the Indiana Pacers made their summer transition to small-ball, the whole plan was contingent upon the team’s franchise cornerstone not only buying into his role as a stretch-4, but also being able to endure the physical toll of playing against power forwards while coming back from a horrific leg injury that sidelined him for almost the entire 2014-15 season.
With Paul George visibly (and vocally) frustrated playing out of position through the preseason and the first couple games of the regular season, the Pacers were struggling and risking the alienation of their star centerpiece.
Luckily for Indiana, head coach Frank Vogel’s early decision to move Paul George back to his preferred spot at the 3 not only seems to have cooled PG-13’s temper, but has also unlocked the key to this team’s success.
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Through the first four games of the season, George started at power forward and logged most of his minutes there, averaging 16.8 points, 8.0 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 1.8 steals per game. Despite the well-rounded numbers, however, he wasn’t particularly efficient with his shot, posting a field goal percentage of 33.3 percent and connecting on only 20 percent of his three-pointers.
The Pacers were outscored by 10.8 points per 100 possessions with George on the floor through those first four games and Indiana posted a 1-3 record over that stretch.
In the team’s fifth game of the season, however, Vogel decided to move Lavoy Allen into the starting lineup at the 4 so that George could move back to the small forward position. And make no mistake about it: even when the Pacers’ starting five hasn’t featured two traditional bigs like Jordan Hill and Ian Mahinmi or Lavoy Allen and Ian Mahinmi, Vogel has still been able to accommodate George’s preferred spot on the floor.
Pacers playing much better (& slower) w/ 2 bigs on the floor w/ Paul George... pic.twitter.com/pzn0tb60tr
— John Schuhmann (@johnschuhmann) November 15, 2015
How have the Pacers been able to get away with playing PG-13 at the 3 despite not having two traditional bigs on the floor with him? Luckily for Vogel, he’s been able to utilize guys like C.J. Miles and Chase Budinger, who, despite being listed as small forwards, are actually taking on the task that was originally meant for George by playing the power forward spot.
Miles (6’6″) and Budinger (6’7″) aren’t stars by any means, but their quiet contributions in this way have allowed the Pacers to get the very best out of Paul George. They aren’t physically imposing, but they’ve been up to the challenge of guarding power forwards without being bullied so far.
George’s strong rebounding numbers have helped the Pacers on the glass despite being undersized and the ability to spread the floor with the three-point threats of Miles (34.1 percent) and Budinger (40 percent) has also given Indiana an advantage on the offensive end.
Most important of all, the Pacers are winning games thanks to Miles’ and Budinger’s selfless sacrifice. Now that George is comfortable with where he’s playing, Indiana has been able to enjoy him playing at an MVP level once again.
Over the last six games, PG-13 is averaging 29.3 points, 9.3 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 1.3 steals per game. The Pacers are 5-1 over that stretch and have outscored opponents by 12.0 points per 100 possessions with him on the floor. Even better, George is shooting a superb 47.5 percent from the field, 47.5 percent from the deep and 85.4 percent from the foul line.
The Pacers had the right idea trying to transition to small-ball, since that’s the direction the NBA is heading in. But as it turns out, they were just trying to turn the wrong player into their new stretch-4. Now that they’ve figured out how to cater to their superstar without abandoning the overall strategy, Paul George has gone back to being a stud and Indiana is back to looking like a playoff team.