Hoops Habit
Fansided

Indiana Pacers: Paul George Needs Supporting Cast To Step Up

By James D. Tillman III

Apr 18, 2016; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Indiana Pacers forward Paul George (13) reacts during their game against the Toronto Raptors in game two of the first round of the 2016 NBA Playoffs at Air Canada Centre. The Raptors beat the Pacers 98-87. Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 18, 2016; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Indiana Pacers forward Paul George (13) reacts during their game against the Toronto Raptors in game two of the first round of the 2016 NBA Playoffs at Air Canada Centre. The Raptors beat the Pacers 98-87. Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit

Indiana Pacers forward Paul George has been the best player on the court in the first-round series against the Toronto Raptors. However, he will need more from his supporting cast if the team hopes to advance to the next round.


After a one-year hiatus from the postseason, the Indiana Pacers find themselves tied at one game apiece in their first-round playoff series against the Toronto Raptors. The Pacers stole home court advantage with a 100-90 win in Game 1.

Unfortunately, despite trimming an 18-point lead down to four points late in the third quarter of Game 2, the Pacers were unable to seize momentum and the Raptors went on to win 98-87, snapping a seven-game losing streak in the postseason.

"“I’m upset about this one,” Pacers forward Paul George said, via VigilantSports.com. “Usually you walk away from a trip 1-1 and feel good about it, but I’m kind of upset about this one because a lot of stuff that we gave up tonight was preventable. The game was setup the same way (as in) Game 1 for us to rally back and win this game but we weren’t tied in, I think our focus was lost, and we gave up some plays that we really shouldn’t of. They outworked us.”"

While it is understandable that George was upset about the loss, he is not the reason why the Pacers were unable to take a commanding 2-0 lead. In fact, one of the noticeable trends through the first two games of this series is that George has been the best player on the court. In Game 1, George scored 33 points on 12-for-22 shooting to go along with six rebounds and four assists.

Related Story: 25 Best Players to Play for the Indiana Pacers

He followed that up with another solid performance in Game 2, as he tallied 28 points on 8-for-15 from the floor, including a 2-for-3 effort from beyond the arc. And for the series, George is averaging 30.5 points on 54 percent shooting and an impressive 75 percent from three-point range.

Along with that, George is second on the team in assists (3.5); tied for third in rebounds (4.0), and tied for first in steals (2.5). Taking these stats into consideration, it is safe to say that George is doing his part.

More from Indiana Pacers

Another trend that is emerging is that George’s supporting cast has been inconsistent. In the series opener, Myles Turner and George Hill chipped in with 10 points each, while Solomon Hill and Ellis scored 13 and 15 points, respectively.

In Game 2, that same group was nearly nonexistent, with Ellis being the only other player aside from George to reach double figures. He had 15. Even with that, only three of those points came in the second half when the Raptors finally seized control of the game.

Here are a few more numbers that should concern Pacers fans.

George has scored 61 points through the first two games on 37 shots. The rest of the Pacers have produced 126 points on 122 shots. For those of you who care to do the math, this means that George has accounted for 32.6 percent of the team’s scoring output.

Remember when I mentioned that George is shooting 54 percent from the floor?

Well, the rest of his teammates are not faring too well, as they have shot a combined 43-for-112, which equates to a 38.4 percent conversion rate. To further demonstrate how much George is carrying the load for the Pacers, it is worth mentioning that he outscored the rest of the starting unit in Game 2 by a 28-26 margin and scored just five fewer points than the bench.

And from a defensive standpoint, George is limiting his opponents to 37.4 percent shooting, per NBA.com. In other words, the rest of the bunch needs to step up if the Pacers hope to upset the second-seeded Raptors.

"“We all have to do a better job of helping Paul out,” Pacers guard Rodney Stuckey said, via ESPN. “We’re at our best offensively when we’re moving the ball around and moving [our feet].”"

More hoops habit: Every NBA Team's Star Wars Counterpart

I expect the Pacers will make some adjustments heading into Game 3. But if the inconsistent production of the supporting cast continues to be an issue, they could be facing a first-round exit, something that hasn’t happened since the 2010-11 campaign.

Home/Indiana Pacers