Paul George is a pretty good basketball player...

Paul George:

25.9 points. 45.8% fg 45.7% 3pt

8.4 rebounds

4.8 assists

     Paul George is quietly looking like one of the best players in the NBA right now.  His initial start to the season was a little rough but after the first two games he has clearly hit a comfort zone.  His shooting looks fantastic.  Last night in Washington he shot 14 for 19 from the field and 7 of 8 from three and 5 for 6 from the line for 40 points in total.  Those are Stephen Curry type numbers.  But that game was not an anomaly.  If you take away the first two games of the season when he was getting readjusted to playing NBA basketball again his percentages look even better.  Minus the first two games he is just under 50% overall from the field and 50% exactly from 3 point land.  His ball handling looks vastly improved as well and he’s looking to make plays for other people much more than he has in the past. His defense has always been his calling card and he is still excellent on that end although he has a tendency to gamble too much.  There are very few players right now I’d rather have on my team than Paul George. 

     The Pacers in general have impressed me.  They have definitely completely reinvented what they are trying to do out on the court.  They got rid of Roy Hibbert in the off season and have clearly made a concerted effort to pick up the pace.  They’re shooting way more 3s overall (they’re 3^rd in the league from 3pt land trailing only Golden State and Phoenix) and C.J. Miles (15.9 on 46% fg and 45.9% 3s) has clearly made a concerted effort to work on his shooting in the off season.  There’s a bit too much Jordan Hill and Ian Manhinmi in general for my taste but both of those guys have played better than I would have expected.  Frank Vogel is clearly a good coach and has adapted well to a complete overhaul of their playing style.  Indiana is full of solid NBA players but lacking in stars.  George Hill is a solid player who shoots very well and can play defense.  Monta Ellis has his flaws but he’s a professional scorer and Rodney Stuckey has a tough aggressive game.  Chase Budinger, when healthy, has always been an effective scorer and Miles Turner looks like he may develop into something at some point.  But it all comes back around to George, the lone star on this team.  At 9 and 5 Indiana is currently tied for the 3^rd best record in the eastern conference.  They’ve clearly committed to pushing the pace.  It’s easy to claim you’re going to play faster but that actually takes work and a conditioning and many teams only give the idea of fast breaking lip service.  Frankly, I’m really surprised that Indiana is this good.  Glancing at their roster before the season I wrote them off but it’s easy to forget how good Paul George is and if he continues to play like this Indiana will really sneak on up on some people this season.