Paul George Is Ready To Have The Greatest Season In Indiana Pacers History
When thinking about the greatest players to ever play for the Indiana Pacers, a few main names come to mind. Reggie Miller, Billy Knight, George McGinnis, Roger Brown, Mel Daniels, and Chuck Person all come to mind to name a few. Paul George appears ready to place his name among the greatest to ever put on a Pacers uniform with a performance during the 2016-17 season that no player in franchise history has ever matched. No player in the team’s history has ever won an MVP award or even made an All-NBA Team better than the All-NBA 3rd Team. So naturally, winning that hardware should automatically make Paul George the best in Pacers history.
Before getting deep into what Paul George can do, it is important to distinguish what the best individual season in Indiana Pacers history was. Billy Knight had the best single season performance in 1976-77 from a statistical standpoint. Knight averaged 40 minutes, 26.6 points, 7.5 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 1.5 steals, 0.2 blocks, and shot an efficient 49.3 percent from the field and 81.6 percent from the free throw line, according to Basketball-Reference. No player has managed to match this level of dynamic all-around production. Paul George appears to be the only player in the franchise’s history that can put up the necessary numbers outside of scoring.
During the 2015-16 season, Paul George posted a unique statistical level of production that hasn’t been replicated in the past by anyone in the Pacers organization. Paul George averaged 34.8 minutes 23.1 points, 7 rebounds, 4.1 assists, 1.9 steals, 0.4 blocks, and 3.3 turnovers, according to Basketball-Reference. There hasn’t been another player besides Paul George that has averaged at least 23 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 assists in a season in Indiana’s history, according to Basketball-Reference. However, that season by Paul George still isn’t the best for a Pacers player. It’s still incredibly impressive to be able to have a season during a rehabilitation process that can be debated as being a top three season in a franchise’s history.
Personally, Billy Knight’s 1976-77 season is the greatest season in Pacers history, but many consider Reggie Miller’s 1989-90 season to be the best. During that year, Reggie Miller averaged 38.9 minutes, 24.6 points, 3.6 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 1.3 steals, 0.2 blocks, and 2.7 turnovers, according to Basketball-Reference. Not only did Reggie Miller post excellent volume numbers, but he was incredibly efficient shooting the basketball, Miller shot 51.4 percent from the field, 55.2 percent on 2-point field goals, 41.4 percent on 3-point field goals, and 86.8 percent from the free throw line, according to Basketball-Reference. Reggie Miller may have been one of the greatest shooters of all-time, but he did not have the all-around abilities that Paul George possesses, which is why it’s possible for George to surpass his best season.
For Paul George to surpass Billy Knight and Reggie Miller for the greatest season in franchise history, he will need to improve his scoring efficiency and scoring volume. The all-around dynamic versatility is already there for Paul George regarding rebounds, assists, and steals. The goal for Paul George should be an average of at least 27 points per game and a field-goal percentage of at least 45 percent. It would be ideal to have a field goal percentage as close to 50 percent as possible, but 45 percent is sufficient. Having an individual player of this caliber with the supporting cast that they already have should give the Pacers sufficient firepower to be an elite team in the Eastern Conference.
The way that Paul George played during the 2015-16 playoffs is basically identical to the standards that are being described. George averaged 39.3 minutes, 27.3 points, 7.6 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 2.0 steals, 0.7 blocks, and 3.3 turnovers, according to Basketball-Reference. George shot 45.5 percent from the field, 47.5 percent on two-point field goals, 41.9 percent on three-point field goals, and 95.3 percent on free throws, according to Basketball-Reference. Of course, that is better than the desired standards, but that would be pretty much the ideal goal for Paul George to accomplish during the 2016-17 season. If the Pacers managed to be one of the top seeds in the Eastern Conference, these individual numbers could possibly even be good enough to win or at least contend for the MVP award.
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There are a variety of factors that point toward Paul George taking the next step as a player. The primary reason is that George has fully recovered from his leg injury, meaning that he will have more explosiveness and stamina. Gaining valuable experience throughout the USA Basketball process will help because he was able to face off against some of the best players in the world on a daily basis. Paul George gained experience as a point guard as well as experience playing off-ball alongside dynamic playmakers during the Olympics too. Players that participate with Team USA typically see improvements as players in their next season.
Indiana has vastly improved playmaking talent and offensive coaching in comparison to their previous roster. As a player that takes a high volume of catch-and-shoot jump shots, it is important to have a system and a set of teammates that create quality opportunities for those types of shots. For reference, 31.1 percent of Paul George’s shot attempts were catch-and-shoot jumpers. Last season, the Pacers did not have that whatsoever, so that could have contributed to the low 38.9 percent that Paul George shot on these attempts. Paul George improving his efficiency as a catch-and-shoot player is a good start towards improving his overall scoring efficiency. It would be ideal for George to get that catch-and-shoot percentage as close to 45 percent shooting as possible.
Last season, the Pacers offensive was a gigantic mess. They had the 25th ranked offensive rating, so that is all that you need to know about that. The most frequent shot attempt that Paul George took was a pull-up jumper, in fact, 43.7 percent of his attempts were pull-up jumpers, according to NBA-Stats. George shot 37 percent on these types of attempts, according to NBA-Stats, which isn’t necessarily ideal. What would be ideal is if Paul George could get as close to 42 percent shooting as possible on pull-up jumpers. These aren’t the most efficient shots in basketball, but it is valuable to be able to make them at a quality rate. Having more stamina to maintain proper balance on these shots could help Paul George with his efficiency on pull-up jumpers. Also, having more explosiveness could be beneficial in creating more space for these attempts, which could increase efficiency too.
The best way for Paul George to improve his scoring efficiency would be to drive the lane and finish at the rim more. George only averaged 3.3 points per game from lane penetration and shot 44.3 percent on these attempts, according to NBA-Stats. With increased explosiveness, a better half-court offense, and teammates that can drive and dish the ball out to force the defense to be out of their rotations, George should be able to penetrate the lane more easily and more often. Penetrating the lane more is the first step for Paul George to become an elite scorer and an efficient one too. Getting as close to 55 percent shooting on drives would be a great goal for Paul George to accomplish.
Kobe Bryant told Paul George that he should be attacking players in the post more often. George also stated that he wants to do this more often in his season-closing press conference. Post offense is an area that Paul George rarely utilized last season, but if George manages to implement this into his game next year, his scoring and efficiency should see significant results. Paul George only averaged 1.6 post touches per game last season, according to NBA-Stats, but he did make good work of those touches. George averaged 1.2 points from the post and shot 69.1 percent on these attempts, according to NBA-Stats. There are not many players at the small forward position that have the size that Paul George does, so taking advantage of this seems like a great strategy.
Using off-ball screens was a significant component of Paul George’s game. George averaged 3.9 points and shot 40.6 percent, according to NBA-Stats. Of course, getting close to 45 percent should be the goal, but it is intriguing that he ranked fourth in scoring on these attempts. Many people do not realize that there is more to scoring than driving the lane and hitting off-balance jump shots. Maximizing the number of simple scoring situations is what separates elite volume scorers from inefficient mid-volume scorers. The usage of off-ball screens is one of those complimentary areas that can lead to a high-quality shot attempt. It is great to see that Paul George is already elite in this area, now he just needs to improve his efficiency in this element of the game by a bit.
Only 3.7 percent of George’s shot attempts came from cuts. For a player that shot 72 percent on those attempts, according to NBA-Stats. With that level of success, it would make a lot of sense to try more of them. The USA Basketball process should have taught George principles for proper cutting. Also, Having an elite lane penetration guard like Jeff Teague should help too. Indiana’s half-court offense featured a lot of standing and not many quality lanes for cutters to attack open space in the defense. With an expanded role for Myles Turner, a big man that is great at moving without the ball (Thaddeus Young), and an elite lane penetration guard (Jeff Teague) to go with Monta Ellis, there should be great conditions and many opportunities for Paul George to cut for scoring opportunities.
The pick-and-roll is a major part of the tendencies that make up Paul George. In fact, 21.2 percent of George’s shot attempts came from the pick-and-roll, according to NBA-Stats. George averaged 4.3 points and shot 41.3 percent on attempts created by the pick-and-roll as a ball handler, according to NBA-Stats. It would be ideal to see George improve his efficiency in this area to closer to 45 percent shooting. Having a great roll man and screener like Thaddeus Young should help Paul George as a pick-and-roll ball handler. Myles Turner and Al Jefferson are effective pick-and-roll big men too, but the main difference will be found in the upgraded power forward position since Indiana didn’t have a quality pick-and-roll player at that position last year.
Transition offense was an area where Paul George shot 16.2 percent of his attempts, according to NBA-Stats. George was decent efficiency wise as he shot 49.8 percent on transition shot attempts, according to NBA-Stats. Having increased athleticism should allow Paul George to not only create more turnovers but to be more effective in the open court when finishing these plays too. Indiana was already good at creating turnovers and scoring in transition as a team, but they significantly improved their ability to force turnovers by creating one of the fastest units in all of the NBA. Thaddeus Young was 1-of-2 power forwards to average at least 1.5 steals per game, according to Basketball-Reference. When adding that to the fact that Paul George and Monta Ellis were the only set of teammates to reach a total of 150 steals each, according to Basketball-Reference, it shows that there will be many transition opportunities for George to score easy points.
Isolation is an area that Paul George needs to improve his efficiency. George averaged 2.7 points per game from isolation and shot 34.4 percent on those attempts, according to NBA-Stats. But for a player that has 14 percent of his shots result from isolation, it is a must that this is an efficient shot for him. Ideally, Paul George would be around 45 percent shooting on his isolation attempts. Paul George does not drive the lane enough as a player. Instead of taking the ball all the way to the hoop to either get a high percentage shot or free throw attempts, George has a tendency to shoot tough jump shots. Difficult jump shots are fine in moderation, but there is a definite need to have a foundation of getting to the rim and generating foul calls.
Improving scoring efficiency will naturally result in a higher volume in scoring. By dissecting the main elements of Paul George’s tendencies, it is evident as to how he can improve his efficiency as a scorer. The first step would be to drive the lane more, having recovered athleticism will make it much easier to not only beat the first defender but to make a play against the rotating help defender when they come. Being an elite lane penetration threat forces Paul George’s man to fear that as an option, meaning he won’t be able to be physical and play tight to prevent the jump shot. Being feared as a penetrator will open up more jump shooting opportunities.
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