Indiana Pacers: Checking in on Paul George

Here’s a look at how former Indiana Pacers star Paul George is getting along in his new surroundings in Oklahoma City as a member of the Thunder.

When the Indiana Pacers sent Paul George to the Oklahoma City Thunder in exchange for Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis, it seemed like a very one-sided deal that would help OKC compete for a championship.

Conversely, the trade appeared to be Indiana’s ticket to the NBA Draft Lottery. From the Pacers’ standpoint, the trade has worked out far better than anyone expected — Oladipo and Sabonis are playing extremely well and the team is in solid contention for a playoff spot.

Let’s check in on Paul George and see how things are panning out for him so far in Oklahoma City. We’ll begin with a look at how he has performed individually since donning a Thunder uniform.

George has played in 23 games for Oklahoma City, averaging 20.7 points, 5.8 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game. He’s shooting the ball very well from 3-point land (40.7 percent), but his field goal and free throw percentages have both dropped off significantly compared to his final season with Indiana.

It’s worth noting that Oladipo is putting up 23.1 points, 5.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game on .483/.440/.789 shooting splits.

The one area where Paul George has taken a big jump statistically is in steals, where he is averaging a league-leading 2.5 per contest (his career-high for a season is 1.9).

Despite playing with two other stars in Russell Westbrook and Carmelo Anthony, George is putting up 17.3 shots per game with the Thunder, nearly matching his average as the go-to guy in Indiana last season (18.0 shots per contest).

Overall, Paul George is producing well for Oklahoma City and he’s giving the team the kind of All-Star level play they anticipated when they made the deal for him last summer.

When it comes to team success, however, things have certainly not gone well for the Thunder 23 games into the 2017-18 campaign. The club is currently ninth in the Western Conference with an 11-12 record, despite adding George and Carmelo Anthony during the offseason.

The biggest problem Oklahoma City has faced is its inability to win close games, and despite having a good individual season to this point, that is not an area where Paul George is likely to help this team.

George is a notoriously poor clutch scorer, as evidenced by research from ESPN that shows George to be 0-for-15 on potential go-ahead shots in the final 20 seconds of games during his career — the worst mark in the NBA since 2010.

Another area of concern for George and the Thunder are the comparative plus/minus stats of their three stars. Westbrook is posting a +4.2 this season while Anthony is sitting at +3.2. Paul George’s plus/minus is a more modest +1.8, indicating that he has not been as impactful as the rest of the “OK3.”

On a positive note, being the second or third option on a talented team appears to suit Paul George. George was frankly miscast in the role of leader and No. 1 option in Indiana — he’s clearly an All-Star talent, but he is not the kind of player who thrives while attempting to carry a team on his back.

In terms of both basketball skills and personality, Paul George is a good fit in his role as a “supporting star” to players like Westbrook and Anthony, and that is something George should keep in mind when deciding his NBA future after this year.

Paul George is giving the Oklahoma City Thunder about what they expected of him in terms of productivity, but as a unit, they haven’t figured things out yet. There is a bit of a dark cloud over the team as it works through early season issues and deals with the possibility that George may leave the team this summer.

Next: 2017-18 Week 8 NBA Power Rankings

The Indiana Pacers may not have immediate title aspirations, but they love what they have in Victor Oladipo, Domas Sabonis and company. This team appears to know what it is and where it’s going, which is in stark contrast to the state the Thunder are currently in.