Will the Indiana Pacers ever prove capable of staying out of their own way long enough to give themselves a chance of knocking off the defending champion Miami Heat?
Just hours after swingman Lance Stephenson was raked over the coals about the wisdom of criticizing four-time league MVP LeBron James' trash-talking skills, star guard Paul George is now ripping his own teammate for essentially jawing too much.
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"He's doing it to the wrong guy," George told Fansided.com of Stephenson's overall assessement that James trash-talking skills were a "sign of weakness" and an indication that he was "getting under his skin. He's barking up the wrong tree. LeBron is the same way, he feeds off that kind of energy."
With a spot in the NBA Finals on the line and the Pacers trailing 2-1 in their best of seven Eastern Conference finals showdown, it's understandable that Indiana would be looking for any edge they can get heading into Monday night's pivotal Game 4. It just seems getting James even more pumped up wouldn't be one of them.
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"It's tough especially because this series could be 2-1 our way right now if anything," added George. "That's why it's a seven-game series. We've got to have the mindset that the best team is going to come away from this."
Heading into the series, Stephenson took a somewhat similar approach when talking about Miami's other star Dwyane Wade, telling reporters of Wade's chronically bad knees he planned to run him until they "flared up."
Indeed, Stephenson's words have served to lit a fire under Wade, who is averaging 24 points, four assists and three rebounds in the series while shooting better than 60 percent from the floor.
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