Doyel: Don't like Paul George's postgame comments? Tough
What if Paul George was right?
What if he was right after Game 1 when he said C.J. Miles should have passed him the ball in the final seconds of the Indiana Pacers’ loss to Cleveland? What if he was right after Game 2 when he said Myles Turner wasn’t nearly tough enough against Cleveland center Tristan Thompson, and when he said Lance Stephenson needs to maintain his composure in the heat of a playoff game?
George was right. Seems like that should matter.
The Pacers could have won those games. They should have won Game 1. Could have won Game 2. Paul George was sensational in both, carrying the Pacers twice to the brink of an upset. The Pacers didn’t win either game, and here are some of the reasons why:
Miles didn’t pass the ball back to George at the end of Game 1. Turner didn’t compete nearly enough with Thompson for most of Game 2. Stephenson lost his cool and let his defensive struggles with Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving snowball.
The Pacers are down 2-0. This isn’t a series they were supposed to win, but Cleveland’s defense has been so spotty, its unforced errors so common — all those missed free throws in Game 1, all those turnovers in Game 2 — that the Pacers had a shot to sneak out of Cleveland with at least one victory. It’s not just Pacers President Larry Bird, caught cursing on television Monday night, who’s frustrated. It’s not just Pacers fans who are frustrated.
Paul George is frustrated.
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Listen, he gets frustrated a lot, and he says stuff a lot, and his words aren’t always defensible. He complains too often about officiating, exalts himself a little too much when he implies he should be given the same officiating treatment as a star like LeBron James. At times, the words coming out of George’s mouth sound more selfish than self-aware. Those are times to push back.
This is not one of those times.
Like a lot of NBA players, Paul George talks about leadership more than he shows it. He constantly calls himself the leader but on occasion plays passively because it’s a regular-season game in January or February and nobody seriously expects him to give his best every night, do they?
Point of those last few paragraphs is not to rehash or stir up any anti-Paul George sentiment here. The point is to draw a distinction between the times George says silly or even selfish stuff, and the times he says what needs to be said.
He’s been doing it more and more of late, saying what needs to be said, even if what he says isn’t comforting. Take his comments before the All-Star break about wanting to play for a winner. George was making it clear that he needs to see the Pacers take some big steps in the right direction before he commits to joining them long term on that journey.
Did you want to hear that? Probably not. Did Larry Bird and Pacers owner Herb Simon need to hear that? Probably so. Their franchise player has given them the courtesy of saying exactly how it is: Get me some help, or I’m gone.
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Same sort of thing has been happening in Cleveland. George wants to win, and he’s producing more on the court than any of his teammates to make it happen. None of his teammates can be the Robin to his Batman — he doesn’t have a Kyrie Irving or a Kevin Love, and might not even have a Tristan Thompson — but George isn’t demanding that they play with more talent.
He’s demanding they play with more sense (C.J. Miles), more guts (Myles Turner), more composure (Lance Stephenson).
Around the country, ESPN is debating George's motives on "First Take" while writers are saying crazy stuff, like: "Paul George wants out of Indiana." Like: Paul George will leave as a free agent and needs to be traded first.
I'm saying: And people think I overreact?
Maybe you’re saying: Paul George shouldn’t say those things publicly. His teammates won’t like it.
Maybe I’m saying: Boo freaking hoo.
Let’s be clear: C.J. Miles was perfectly fine with what George said after Game 1, telling me the other day in Cleveland: “He should say that. He should want the ball. The play unfolded the way it unfolded, but I have no problem with what he said.”
No idea how Myles Turner feels about being called out so publicly, but he’s been called out before. Many times. Paul George and coach Nate McMillan have asked repeatedly for the Pacers to play with more physicality, more toughness. You know who they were talking primarily about. So does Myles Turner.
Subtlety hasn’t worked, so George went for it after Game 2. And to be fair to George — context matters — he was answering a direct question about Myles Turner. A reporter asked George: What do the Pacers need from Turner?
George answered the question.
If Turner can’t handle one of his teammates saying something as benign — and as accurate — as what George said Monday night, if that’s going to send Turner into a shell or upset team chemistry, the Pacers have more to worry about than the way Paul George answered the question.
Turner strikes me as a sensitive guy, but not in that way. He’ll be fine. C.J. Miles is fine. Lance Stephenson? It’s like Cavs coach Ty Lue said appreciatively before Game 2: “Lance is one of those guys that (doesn’t) care.”
Lance won’t care about this.
What I’m trying to understand: Why does anyone?
Find IndyStar columnist Gregg Doyel on Twitter at@GreggDoyelStar or atfacebook.com/gregg.doyel.