We’ve come across countless the memes, jokes, and creative slander for Paul George over the last several months. It’s a good source of a quick laugh, and quite frankly, he deserves a ton of it with the way he played in the 2020 playoffs, especially in their meltdown against the Denver Nuggets.
But, of course, that heartbreak is in the past. All that is behind George, and he’s been using it as an added motivation for this season. It’s working quite well for him as he and the LA Clippers are maintaining their place in the league’s elite pecking order.
The Clippers are 42-19 overall and rank third in the Western Conference. They have also won 17 of their last 20 games while averaging 115.8 points per game and boasting a point differential of +11.
George is at the center of the scorching run as he is everywhere. In that stretch, he’s putting up 26 points, 7.4 rebounds, 5.6 assists, and 1.5 steals a night. Expect the Ws to come and those numbers to get even better as PG is continuing to heat up, particularly this month.
Paul George last 8 games:
— StatMuse (@statmuse) April 24, 2021
32.9 PPG
7.6 RPG
5.4 APG
3.9 3PG
51.6 FG%
44.9 3P%
91.7 FT%
MVPG form. pic.twitter.com/yTzo6JdFLl
Inside that are seven 30-plus point performances. There are zero signs of ‘Pandemic P’ or ‘Way-Off P’ for a while now. The man is just locked in, and as one Reddit user hilariously quipped, “Pandemic P has been vaccinated.”
Saturday against the Houston Rockets, George powered the Clippers to a 109-104, come-from-behind win, where they overcame three quarters of sloppy play. He scored 12 of his 32 points in the final period and once again showed how fast he and the Clippers can flip their switch.
With the way things suddenly changed, the Clippers might’ve just let the last-placed Rockets hang around before deciding it’s winning time.
Here’s George in the postgame talking about how they brushed off their cold spell, most notably their forgettable third quarter where they could only muster 11 points.
”We just had to stay with it … Not every game is going to be perfect, and that third quarter was an indication of that. We just couldn’t make a shot. As a team, we didn’t have a rhythm, we missed a lot of shots and turned the ball over a lot. It was just a flat quarter for us.’
This is really, really good (for now)
The Paul George we’re seeing now is the reason why he became the star that he is. He can score from anywhere in the floor, disrupt the passing lanes, and feed his teammates. If he gets his rhythm going, you’ll consistently someone get smoked in various ways.
Now, don’t get it twisted. PG still isn’t off the hook from his numerous playoff shortcomings. While this is an amazing momentum to work with for the fast-approaching playoffs, the ghosts of his past failures isn’t going away quietly. Why would it stop now when it didn’t over the last couple of postseasons?
We don’t know which PG will show up when real pressure is on the table again, but whether it’s ‘Playoff P’ or good ‘ol ‘Pandemic P,’ it will be quite a watch for hoop fans.
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George and the Clippers will take on the New Orleans Pelicans next. They’ll visit them in the Big Easy this Tuesday at 8:00 AM, Manila time.