When Paul George was traded to the Boston Celtics back in July, it became a "summer of discontent." Obviously, it was because they traded George for Jaylen Brown to the rival Philadelphia 76ers, but even the most optimistic Bostonian would tell you there were so many different outcomes when it came to the potential of George's play for the Celtics.
I am happy to say through eight games this season, George is exceeding those expectations and then some, becoming a leader for this team both on and off the court.
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In the Celtics win over the Milwaukee Bucks, George finished with a team high 25 points along with 5 assists, 4 steals and 3 rebounds on 8-18 shooting from the field and 5-9 shooting from three. George hit some clutch shots in the fourth quarter after Milwaukee surged back to erase a 22-point deficit, but he was once again the closer Boston needed to end up with a win.
There were questions on how the team would look without Jayson Tatum in this contest, especially after George was out against the Houston Rockets on November 2nd in a 109-93 loss, but I would argue both of these strengthened the argument for how important Paul George really is to this Celtics team.
With George out against Houston, Boston's non-Tatum lineups
were abysmal, finishing with only 14 points on 4-23 (17.3%) shooting from the field and 3-14 (21.4%) from three while getting outscored by 16 points. George would have made a huge different. Before the Bucks game, he had a+26.2 net rating and 140.0 offensive rating when Tatum is off the floor, showing that he can keep Boston afloat when Jayson Tatum rests.
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Not only did Paul George hit the clutch shots that were needed, he also played 35 minutes, the 2nd most he's played all season so far. George played the entire first and fourth quarters and when asked about his rotation, head coach Joe Mazzulla said, "…first half, he kind of had a good groove going, so I wanted to keep him in there. Second half I trust him for those 12 minutes straight in the 4th quarter. So managing the 3rd quarter and then putting him in to start the 4th, I knew he'd be in position to deliver for us, and so just switched the sub pattern there."
Later in the press conference, I asked Mazzulla his thoughts on how important George's impact on the identity of this team is. "Really, extremely, even beyond basketball," Mazzulla said. "Defensively, he's been elite since he stepped on the court. Offensively, it's been a fun journey with him, just growing through it and learning the system and how to play and being unpredictable and looking at different things."
Derrick White, who also had a solid game finishing with 24 points and 7 assists on 7-18 shooting, was also asked about Paul George's impact beyond basketball
. "He cares about the person next to you." White said. "He's someone you can hang out with, just have a good time with him. Obviously, on the court he does a lot offensively and defensively for us. He's got a really good fantasy football team, too."
Paul George has engrained himself into the Celtics culture and its really cool to see him embrace Boston so much. We have also seen George's relationship with Jayson Tatum grow throughout the season. Wheather its publicly voicing his support for Tatum in postgame press conferences or showing emotion
on the court after hitting a dagger, George has been a great partner in crime.
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When asked about his approach without Tatum for the first time this season, George said, "try to be a little more aggressive, without trying to do too much or take myself out of the offense. I thought to try to let the game still come to me, but still you know, a little more aggressive, more so to make sure the ball moved, and just be in attack mode."
Paul George is averaging 21.3 points, 5.6 rebounds, 5.0 assists, and 2.6 steals on 46% shooting from the field and 41.4% from three which is a completely different stat-line than last season. Through his first 7 games with the 76ers last season, George averaged 14.4 points, 4.9 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.7 steals on 42.2% shooting from the field and 35% from three. Obviously, this was in a different role where George was the third or fourth option in Philadelphia, but it does show how productive he can be when healthy and in the right situation.
Maybe it is an overreaction to a 7-game sample size, but I really feel like Paul George can keep up this level of production throughout the rest of this season, barring injury. George is incredibly important to this team and it is important to keep him healthy or Boston could find themselves in a troubling situation quickly. Either way, Paul George has been elite in his role with the Celtics and I look forward to watching his redemption arc this season.
