Paul George: A master at stealing the ball
Paul George has the most steals for the OKC Thunder and he has the most steals in the league. While doing so, George is making a case to be Defensive Player of the Year.
When the Oklahoma City Thunder acquired Paul George in a trade, they knew they were getting one of the best two-way players in the league. George’s ability to score is elite and he is second on the team in scoring next to Russell Westbrook, but the defensive end is where George is making his money this year.
Paul George leads the team and the league in steals with 2.8 per game. The next three people are tied for second and are not even close — Russell Westbrook (2.2), Ben Simmons (2.1) and Kris Dunn (2.1).
With George’s ability to steal, he capably turns defense into offense. One example of this keen ability came in the first quarter in a game against the Denver Nuggets in early November. While guarding Jamal Murray, PG-13 fought off a screen to steal the ball when Murray went past him.
After stealing the ball George, went down the other end and ignited a fast break. He was able to get the layup to go in and he was fouled.
George is ninth in the league in points off turnovers per game with 4.2, so that means he is making opponents pay for giving the ball to him.
While George may never reach the 3.67 steals per game single-season record that Alvin Robertson was able to accomplish in 1985-86, he is a serious threat to average more than three steals a game for this season.
Only seven other players have been able to accomplish this feat. Those players are Alvin Robertson, Michael Jordan, Slick Watts, John Stockton, Micheal Ray Richardson, Magic Johnson and Don Buse.
Pairing up with Carmelo Anthony and Russell Westbrook has not produced wins yet, but what it has done is display the talents of Paul George in a way never seen before. George can take over a game with how he plays on both sides of the ball.
He can guard your best player and then go on the other end and still put up 20 or more. Kawhi Leonard and LeBron James (when engaged) may be the only other players that have that ability.
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He is not the primary focus on the court in terms of offense now so he can play defense harder than ever.
The accumulation of talent that the Thunder have lets the team play fast and without reckless abandon. A player like Paul George will be able to play like a top high school recruit on a talented high school basketball team.
The Thunder are first in the league in steals per game with 10.9, first in the league in points off turnovers with 21.2, second in overall defense and sixth in fast break points per game in the league with 14.
If the OKC Thunder are going to right the ship, they will have to feature Paul George. George’s skills are second to none in the league. One dangerous asset he has is the ability to shoot a pull-up 3 on a fast break. You can see this ability in the video below at the 6:48 and 8:20 marks.
With a talent like Paul George on the team combined with Anthony and Westbrook, the Thunder have the pieces to go far beyond the end of the season.
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As the third-best defense in the NBA, the Thunder are featuring the talented swiper that is Paul George like never before. Now they just need to figure out the other end of the floor.