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Boston Celticcs Head Coach Offers Assessment of Paul George's Performance
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- Boston Celticcs Head Coach Offers Assessment of Paul George's Performance
(Eric Canha/Imagn Images)
The Boston Celtics , sans franchise superstar Jayson Tatum, improved to 6-2 on the season with a 109-102 win against the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday at TD Garden in Boston.
The Celtics were led in their winning effort by wing Paul George, who scored a team-high 25 points on an 8-for-18 clip from the floor (including a 5-for-9 mark from 3-point range). George also added five assists, four steals and three rebounds in the victory.
George was the biggest acquisition of the offseason for Boston. He was the key returning piece for the team in the trade that sent wing player Jaylen Brown to the Philadelphia 76ers . George joined the team as a nine-time All-Star and a four-time NBA all-defensive player. However, he was limited to just 78 games the last two seasons due to injury.
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Through the first eight games of the season, seven of which George has played, the veteran wing player performed well for the Celtics, although he's had several games where he's had inefficient nights from the floor.
One thing George has remained consistent in is his defense, which drew praise from his head coach.
" " Defensively, (George has) been elite since he stepped on the court," Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla said after the game, which was shared to "X" by Bobby Krivitsky. "Offensively, it's been a fun journey. ... learning the system ... being unpredictable. ... We need the best version of him for us to be a great team, and I think you were able to see that tonight."
Last season, Brown was tasked with leading the team for the majority of the season due to Tatum missing most of the year due to a torn Achilles tendon. There was a question on what the team would be capable of without Tatum on the floor this season, and Wednesday was a good sign that George can step up to be the primary scorer Brown was last year without the superstar.
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This season, George has averaged 21.3 points per game across seven contests on 46% shooting from the floor (41.4% from 3-point range). He's also pulled in 5.6 boards, dished five assists and swiped 2.6 steals per contest.
George and the Celtics will have four more consecutive games against Eastern Conference opponents. They'll play the Charlotte Hornets in an NBA Cup group stage games Nov. 6; head on the road to play Milwaukee again Nov. 8; will play Philadelphia on the road Nov. 10 and end the Eastern Conference stretch against the Toronto Raptors on Nov. 11.
