This wasn’t what Paul George had in mind when he re-signed with the Oklahoma City Thunder last summer. When Kevin Durant left OKC for the Warriors, the Thunder failed to get past the first round of the playoffs in 2017. After adding George and Carmelo Anthony last season, they lost in the first round to the Utah Jazz. This year, thinking that getting rid of Anthony was going to solve their chemistry issues, the Thunder lost 4-1 in … you guessed it … the first round.
What has PG-13 gotten himself into?
He left the Indiana Pacers in the hopes of escaping mediocrity. But since he joined the Thunder, he has known nothing but the same. One could even argue the Pacers would be in better shape than the Thunder if not for Victor Oladipo's injury.
At the heart of the repeated failures is Russell Westbrook, the triple-double machine who has been widely criticized for shooting too much and being too stubborn to change. George re-signed with the Thunder last summer because of his friendship with Westbrook and the unfinished business of the Thunder not making it to the second round of the playoffs and beyond. It left a bad taste in George’s mouth knowing they could have advanced further last season.
You have to wonder what another first-round exit tastes like now.
So, does he regret teaming up with Westbrook in light of their recent playoff failures?
No, at least not yet.
George is loyal to Westbrook and isn't about to throw the point guard under the bus. He just finished the first year of a four-year, $137-million contract and has three more years to try to rectify OKC's lack of success.
Right now, George is saying all the right things to the media when it comes to Westbrook. But Westbrook truly was a big reason why the Thunder fell short in the postseason yet again.
Russ was throwing up bricks all series long. In Game 2, he shot 5-of-20 from the field, including 1-of-6 from 3-land in a 114-94 loss. In Game 4, he took 21 shots, knocking down only five of them. He also shot 2-of-7 from 3-point range. In the deciding game, Westbrook shot the ball 31 times but made only 11 of them. For the series, he made a horrendous 36.0 percent of his attempts from the field.
During the early part of the regular season, Westbrook was content to let George fire away at will while he played his all-around game, taking “only” 18.5 shots per game in his first 24 games. But after that point, Westbrook’s penchant for jacking up shots without conscience returned. He averaged 21.0 field goal attempts a game during that span, which included nine outings when he fired away 28 to 30 times. They lost five of those nine games, by the way.
No one on the Thunder would dare question Westbrook’s shot selection. Even head coach Billy Donovan seemingly doesn’t have control over his star player’s trigger-happy style, and there’s no way George would dare question him.
Besides, the 6-foot-8 forward had his best season as a pro and became an MVP candidate this year supposedly as a result of his buddy giving him free rein to shoot and do what he does best. George had career highs in scoring (28.0 points), field goals made (9.2) and attempted (21.0), 3-pointers made (3.8) and attempted (9.8), rebounding (8.2) and steals (2.2), all while while tying his best ever output in assists (4.1).
With stats like these, how could he complain about the Thunder point guard? Unless, of course, George points out to him what the most important thing is. Although their stats look great on paper, the bottom line is winning a championship, and they’ll never make it past the first round unless they change.
Right now, George doesn’t regret joining forces with Westbrook. But that doesn’t mean he won’t change his mind, especially after he has had a couple of years under his friend’s shadow.
Just ask Durant.
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