2019 NBA Playoffs: Portland Trail Blazers vs. OKC Thunder preview
2. Which Paul George is the Thunder getting?
In this, his first season after re-signing as a free agent last summer, Paul George has looked like a completely different basketball player for OKC, in line for a spot on the All-NBA Second Team at the very minimum.
He averaged career-highs across the board, including 28.0 points, 8.2 rebounds, 4.1 assists and a league-leading 2.2 steals per game as well. All this, while serving as the Thunder’s go-to option on the defensive end.
As mentioned earlier, he struggled following the All-Star break with a sharp decrease in efficiency from both the field and 3-point line.
PG has been powering through a shoulder injury that clearly has him at less than 100 percent capacity, which doesn’t bode well for Oklahoma City’s postseason hopes.
Paul George said the pain in his right shoulder was too much to try and play through against Milwaukee, but says “as much as I can get it 100 as possible or close to it, you can expect me out there Sunday.” pic.twitter.com/5wHNiC7CyR
— Royce Young (@royceyoung) April 12, 2019
George has been OKC’s best player all season, an elite defender whose hit a number of game-winning shots. We saw how Westbrook operates without another star next to him in the first round of the 2017 playoffs, where he shot just 38.8 percent from the field in a five-game defeat.
Westbrook isn’t a shot creator. He needs a consistent running mate who can score from the perimeter.
The NBA requires stars to compete at a high level and if PG finds himself unable to perform to the best of his abilities, an already struggling Thunder offense that ranked 16th in offensive rating will have even more trouble producing points.