Pacers coach Frank Vogel and president Larry Bird want Paul George to play power forward this season, and serve in a role similar to the one Draymond Green played with the 2014-15 champion Warriors. Green embraced the role, however, while George is putting up a fight.
George has played one game in the preseason at power forward, and seems like he’s not into it.
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“I don’t know if I’m cut out for a four spot,” George said. “I don’t know if this is my position. We’ll sit and watch tape and I’m sure I’ll talk with coach (Frank Vogel). I’ll talk with Larry (Bird) as well to get both their inputs on how the first game went but…I’m still not comfortable with it regardless of the situation.”
Rangy forwards playing the four in small-ball lineups is probably going to be a new fad following the Warriors’ success, but Indiana turning to George as a full-time power forward may be a mistake. While he would be a mismatch for larger forwards on the perimeter on offense, he does not have much bulk to him, and could be dominated on the block. Even worse, George spent most of last season on the bench after breaking his leg in gruesome fashion, so taking a pounding in the post might not be for the best.
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Also, utilizing George at power forward robs the Pacers of arguably George’s best trait, his perimeter defense. While George’s scoring and 3-point shooting have come along, he made his mark by playing fantastic defense on perimeter stars like LeBron James and Kevin Durant. That is wasted if he’s forced to guard bigger players trying to post him up.
According to Candace Buckner of the Indianapolis Star, the meeting George spoke of with Vogel and Bird has already happened.
How that meeting went is anyone’s guess. We will all have to wait until Indiana’s next preseason game on Oct. 6.
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