LA Clippers: Slander Paul George no more, he’s on an MVP track

Paul George is a favored punching bag in online discourse, but it’s time to move past the narratives and realize he’s an MVP candidate for the LA Clippers.

There comes a time in our modern world where the narrative overwhelms the reality of a situation. Sometimes the story surrounding a topic becomes bigger than the facts on the ground, and that seems to be the case for LA Clippers star Paul George.

Thanks to some pretty unfortunate gaffs (like saying last season wasn’t championship or bust after losing a 3-1 lead to the Denver Nuggets), George finds himself in the media more often for what he says than what he does. However, it’s now time for the facts to outweigh the narratives and the jokes as we come to realize just how spectacular he has been so far this season for the Clippers.

He’s become impossible to ignore in the All-NBA and MVP conversation thanks in large part to his preposterous shooting. On high volume at 8.0 attempts per game, Paul George is shooting 51.0 percent from 3-point range and a matching 51.0 percent clip from inside the arc. He’s shooting 92.3 percent from the free throw line which puts him squarely in the unheard-of 50/50/90 club.

George is averaging 24.8 points per game, leading the LA Clippers in scoring ahead of Kawhi Leonard’s 24.3, and adding 6.2 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 1.2 steals per game.

He’s leading all players in efficiency among those with usage rates over 25.0 percent, posting a true shooting percentage of 68.8 (just ahead of Kevin Durant’s 68.4) and an effective field goal percentage of 63.8 (again just ahead of Durant’s 62.5).

George’s jump shot has been nothing short of incendiary so far. He’s scoring 1.385 points per possession (PPP) on 130 jump shot opportunities and he’s beyond lethal when playing off the ball, scoring 1.725 PPP in 51 catch and shoot opportunities.

On higher volume, his off-the-dribble shot has been lights-out too, scoring 1.179 PPP on 78 opportunities.

Thanks to the massive blowouts that the Clippers have been on the winning side of lately (due in large part to Paul George blazing teams to death from 3-point range), George even has a heavily positive net rating at +11.2. That might not seem so surprising considering the Clippers have a 10-4 record, but remember he played 24 minutes in their absolute dismantling at the hands of the Dallas Mavericks in a 124-73 defeat on December 27th.

Being able to wipe clean that statistical black mark in so short a period of time speaks to the dominance that the LA Clippers have displayed for most of this bizarre season so far.

The time has come for the discourse around Paul George to move past the jokes and the failures of the past, and I’m admitting my own culpability here as well. His play has been absolutely transcendent and he’s the single biggest reason the Clippers have been so impressive to start the season (they’re shooting 44.0 percent from 3-point range as a team so far!).

Maybe the Clippers will wilt under the bright lights of the playoffs again this season like they did last, only time will tell. But if we’re going to enjoy the moments that the NBA brings us, we need to give Paul George the respect due to him as he puts together a legitimate MVP-caliber campaign.