Paul George gets set to face the Indiana Pacers
The Oklahoma City Thunder are on a two-game losing streak and will look to right the ship when they face Paul George’s old team, the Indiana Pacers.
The beginning of the 2017-18 season was promising with the Oklahoma City Thunder having a Big Three and the team dominating its first game. Things don’t look the same anymore even though it is still early in the season. Going into Wednesday’s game against the Indiana Pacers, one third of the Big Three will have extra incentive, though: Paul George gets set to face his old team.
George was with the Pacers for his whole career before this year. Those seven seasons were filled with deep playoff runs and jaw-dropping dunks, but he was never able to win a championship. George ended his tenure when he told the team he would not re-sign in 2018, which created an uproar with the fans who felt betrayed.
George knows how he left wasn’t the best way to leave after forcing a trade. At the end of the day, George embraced the business side of basketball and decided to move on to a better situation for him.
Via the Indy star George said:
"“Obviously, I’m human. Things could have been done a lot better. The process, that whole ordeal could have been done a lot better. I’ll share some of that responsibility. But at the end of the day, I did what was best for myself, what was best for my family. I had to move on. It was the right decision for myself. I’m happy. I’m happy with what the results were.”"
Now that he is with the OKC Thunder, he looks to embark on a journey that will end with a championship. Carmelo Anthony chased the dream that George decided to take when he waived his trade clause to join the Thunder, and he faced his old team early on too. It ended with a dominant 105-84 win.
Via IndyStar:
"“If I sit here and say he’s not excited about that game tomorrow, I’d be lying to you,” Anthony said."
George is excited and the chance to stick it to his old team is something that nobody could ever pass up. On the other side, the Thunder’s second-leading scorer from last year, Victor Oladipo, will be facing his old team after dropping 28 points and dominating a game against the Minnesota Timberwolves — the team the Thunder just lost to.
Domantas Sabonis also had 15 with 11 rebounds and shot 67 percent from the floor. With two of their old players coming off of spectacular performances, the Thunder will be in for a fight. If George is excited, one can only imagine how Oladipo and Sabonis feel. They were part of the supporting cast that people said didn’t help Russell Westbrook in games.
But now Oladipo is averaging 22.3 points per game and Sabonis is averaging 12.3 points and nine rebounds for the 2-2 Pacers. George is averaging 21.3 points so far, so a lot of pride and bragging rights will be on the table for certain players in this game. The Pacers look like they are benefiting so far from the trade that people said was a steal for the Thunder.
Oladipo is benefiting from the Indiana Pacers’ up-tempo style, while George has not been taking advantage of the opportunities that he has on this team. With other two superstars, George should have more freedom because the focus is not primarily on him. He knows that he has not been playing up to par so far as he has only shot 37 percent from the field.
Creating his own shot instead of running off of screens will play to George’s strengths and that will hopefully lead to him driving the ball to the hole for easier shots.
Via FoxSports:
"“The more of these games come around, the more I see teams play us, the more opportunities I see that are opening up,” George said. “The game is different for me now, in an easier way that I’m not taking advantage of.”"
Paul George knows the game will be an emotional one because of the fact that he was drafted by this team and spent a long time with them during the trials and tribulations that every NBA player experiences while playing on their respective teams.
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“It’ll be emotional from a standpoint of it’s an organization that I started with, had a wonderful journey with, that I had seven unbelievable years with,” George said.