Brunt: Paul George has potential to pass Miller as greatest NBA Pacer
By CLIFF BRUNT
ISL Founder
INDIANAPOLIS — Paul George has done it again.
The youngster just dropped another masterful performance in the playoffs.
On the eve of his 23rd birthday, George finished with 21 points, 10 rebounds and five assists to help the Indiana Pacers defeat the Atlanta Hawks 106-83 on Wednesday night. The Pacers have taken a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series and could close it out Friday in Atlanta.
With the calm and confidence of a veteran, he scored 21 points on 7-for-8 shooting, an amazing show of controlled dominance for such a young player.
George brilliantly attacked a helpless Josh Smith early in the third quarter. Smith had four fouls, and instead of letting him off the hook as lesser players often do, George attacked the roller-skating Smith, Atlanta’s best player, and nearly put him on a special poster for his mancave with a missed dunk that would have been the talk of SportsCenter if converted.
Foul No. 5 for Smith. Game over.
The Hawks trailed 82-68 when Smith returned in the fourth quarter, but he wasn’t the same, and neither were the Hawks. When Smith left the game for good, the Pacers led 94-72.
George’s stats in the playoffs are as follows: 21.2 points, 10.2 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game.
What all this says is something folks around here might not be ready to say: George could eventually become the greatest Pacer since the franchise entered the NBA.
Better than Jermaine O’Neal, Danny Granger, David West, Rik Smits, Jalen Rose, the Davises, Chris Mullin and Ron Artest.
Better than Reggie Miller.
Now, for that to happen, a lot must take place. The Pacers have to keep him and pay him an awful lot of money. And he needs to play an awful long time. But after watching him blossom this season, it’s time to at least acknowledge the fact that the potential is there.
As George puts another candle on his birthday cake, I’d like to offer some perspective as to where he stands now in Pacers history and where he could go in his career. I’m not going to compare him to Pacers ABA players because that is very difficult to do.
Since the Pacers joined the NBA in 1976, there have only been 12 Pacers players to be named All-Stars. George got there at age 22. Miller was 24 and Granger was 25 when they first reached that level.
George is the fourth Pacer since the end of the 1999-2000 season to be named the NBA’s most improved player. He is also the youngest, at 22. O’Neal was 23, Granger was 26 and Rose was 27.
Miller was absolutely devastating in the playoffs as a shooter, and nothing will ever take away from his famous eight points in nine seconds. He will not be replaced in the hearts of the fans. But in Games 1, 2 and 5 against the Hawks, we have seen that George has the ability to dominate a postseason game, too. We also should note that George’s triple-double in Game 1 of the Atlanta series was just the second in Pacers playoff history — Mark Jackson had one in 1998. He hasn’t dominated in the playoffs often enough to be in Reggie’s class, but we know he could someday and that should be encouraging for Pacers fans. He already has leapfrogged Granger in terms of potential because Granger never dominated this way in the postseason. If Granger never plays again as a Pacer, I’m not sure he gets to the rafters.
Since we’re comparing great Pacers of the past, I’m going to use this space to remind folks how good O’Neal was. Folks around here often remember O’Neal for failing to be the leader Miller was, for being involved in The Brawl and for being injured a lot.
Here’s a list of his accomplishments before the injuries took control of his career: O’Neal was an All-Star each year from 2002 to 2007. He is the only Pacer to be higher than All-NBA third team, earning a second-team nod in 2004. Only three Pacers have been named first, second or third team, and for a total of seven times. Miller was third team three times, O’Neal was second team once and third team twice and Ron Artest was third team once.
Whether people like it or not, O’Neal’s No. 7 belongs in the rafters. And that means George isn’t just chasing Miller’s legacy, he’s chasing O’Neal’s. Jermaine was way too good to be an afterthought.
Now, here’s the meat of why George could reach the highest of heights here in the Heartland.
Artest was the league’s defensive player of the year in 2004, an award George is capable of winning in the future. George was in the top 10 in voting for defensive player of the year this season. Miller was a decent defender who was best known as a flopper. George is a dominant, game-changing force as a defender. That is what potentially puts him ahead of Miller.
Then, there is the question about winning. Miller, though known as a winner, didn’t make the playoffs until his third year in the league and didn’t win a series until his seventh year. George has been to the playoffs every year of his career and won his first series in his second year. You could argue that George had better teammates than Miller early in his career and you might be right. Still, the fact that George has playoff seasoning early in his career bodes well for his future.
There is more in store for George. He has a slender frame, but he has the potential to get stronger and the work ethic to do it. If he puts on about 10 to 15 pounds and works on his post skills, he’ll become nearly impossible to guard. He’s already one of the best defensive players in the NBA, and strength will only make him better.
Simply put, other than Jermaine O’Neal for that dynamite six-year stretch, Artest for a fleeting few years and David West in these impressive few years towards the end of his career, the Pacers haven’t had a player who could truly dominate a game at both ends of the floor.
Until now.
And as good as Miller was, he wasn’t nearly as versatile or complete as George.
Maybe George eclipses Miller, maybe he doesn’t. But Pacers fans, be thankful it didn’t take decades for someone with that kind of potential to arrive.
