Prediction: Paul George Will Win MVP Next Year
By Sai Mohan
Set to dominate wings…again
Coach Frank Vogel, under pressure from president Larry Bird to adopt a small-ball driven, faster playbook, started Paul George at power forward for most of last season. While this experiment didn’t hurt George’s production on offense, his defensive efficiency took a bit of a nosedive.
In 2012-13 and 2013-14, George finished top three in both Defensive Win Shares and Defensive Rating while playing a lot of 2 and 3. He was, on a nightly basis, the best perimeter defender in the league.
While Kawhi Leonard was making rapid strides and James continued to dominate on both ends of the floor, coaches had a tough time cracking Indiana’s mighty defensive unit anchored by George and George Hill at the perimeter, Roy Hibbert and David West in the middle.
In 2012-13, teams shot a league-low 32 percent from deep against George and the Pacers. For two consecutive seasons, the Pacers led the league in opponent field goal percentage. They were better than Tom Thibodeau’s Chicago Bulls and the always gritty Memphis Grizzlies. That’s how good!
For George to return to that elite level, he is best suited to the 3-spot, as was proven during the playoffs when he kept DeMar DeRozan to a mediocre 31 percent from the field during the seven-game first round series against the Toronto Raptors.
George has the size and the ability to play the 4. But he’s most efficient as a small forward. Surerly, George can play some minutes at the 4 in small-ball teams, but every advanced stat supports the argument that he should be playing most of his minutes at the 3.
Next: The Teague Factor