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For the first time since moving to the Western Conference three seasons ago, Paul George will be playing in the second round of the playoffs, giving him more chances to exorcise the playoff demons and “Playoff P” jokes that have been haunting him.
With Kawhi Leonard and George (to a degree) leading the way, the Los Angeles Clippers advanced to the Western Conference Semifinals against either the third-seeded Denver Nuggets or the sixth-seeded Utah Jazz after beating Luka Doncic and the upstart Dallas Mavericks in six games in their first-round series.
But just over a week ago, George was struggling mightily against the Mavs, which put into question whether the mighty Clippers could be headed to a first-round upset.
George's subpar performances began in Game 2 and came to a head in Game 4, when the six-time All Star finished with just nine points on 3-for-14 shooting in a game where Doncic hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer in overtime to tie the series at two games apiece.
In the process, the 30-year-old Fresno State product made NBA history, but not the good kind, becoming the first player to shoot under 25% from the field in three straight games since Bob Cousy in 1960:
FROM ELIAS: Paul George is the first player to shoot under 25% in 3 straight playoff games since Bob Cousy in 1960 (min. 10 FGA each game). pic.twitter.com/unYBKetLOZ
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) August 24, 2020
George acknowledged that dealing with anxiety and depression in the NBA bubble was affecting him. His Clippers teammates stuck by him and gave him encouragement.
Still, this was surely not who Leonard envisioned to be his superstar partner when he left the defending champion Toronto Raptors in order to join the Clippers in free agency. Los Angeles needed Paul George's best version in order to take the series lead from Dallas, and he finally showed up in Game 5.
In his best game of the playoffs for the Clippers, George erupted for 35 points in Game 5, shooting 12-for-18 from the field and 4-for-8 from downtown. It was the kind of performance that everyone expected him to have since joining LA from the Oklahoma City Thunder.
While George struggled to a 6-for-19 shooting night in Game 6, the Clippers taking care of business and putting away the Mavs kept the focus away from him. It's a good thing that Kawhi Leonard took over, though, because a loss would have resulted in more scrutiny about George's playoff history.
But just how well-founded are the playoff criticisms of Paul George?
This past series certainly didn't help George's case. In their two losses, he averaged just 18.5 points on 7-for-31 shooting. He also had two awful shooting performances in victories, to go along with one outstanding performance (Game 5) and one stellar showing (Game 1). The Clippers star averaged 18.5 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 4.0 assists while shooting just 35.8% overall and 27.5% from 3-land in the series.
These numbers are way down from George's playoff stats when he played alongside Russell Westbrook for two seasons and a combined 11 playoff games for the Oklahoma City Thunder. With OKC, George averaged 26.5 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 3.1 assists while shooting 42.1% overall and 34.3% on 3-pointers. Those are respectable playoff numbers.
However, the Thunder never made it past the first round, losing in six games to the Utah Jazz in 2018 and bowing out in five games last year to Damian Lillard and the Portland Trail Blazers. While George's overall playoff numbers with the Thunder look okay, it's hard not to remember the bad.
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Paul George had just five points in a 2-for-16 shooting performance against the Jazz in Game 6 of their first-round series, which they lost by just five points. George and Joe Ingles had been going at it all series, and the Jazz forward got the better of PG-13 in that elimination game.
Then there was the first-round series in 2019 against the Blazers, which ended on a Lillard shot for the ages to win the game and the series for Portland. An indelible image created by that playoff moment showed George trying to block Lillard’s series-winner, Lillard waving goodbye to the Thunder, and then PG-13 later saying that it was a “bad shot.”
What got lost in the pandemonium after that game was that George actually finished with 36 points, making 14 of his 20 shots in the process. He actually played well for most of the series (28.6 points per game), providing ample support to Russell Westbrook throughout. Still, his shooting percentages weren't great (43.0% overall, 32.3% on 3-pointers), so it's fair to give him some blame for a second consecutive first-round exit.
Going back even further, Paul George had his moments of glory with the Indiana Pacers. George was able to reach the Eastern Conference Finals twice, losing in seven games in 2013 and in six games the following year to the LeBron James-led Miami Heat. George played a key role throughout those playoff runs.
In 2015-16, George put forth a dominant first-round performance in a thrilling seven-game series against the Toronto Raptors. He recorded 27.3 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 4.3 assists per game while shooting 45.5% from the field and an impressive 41.9% on 3-pointers. The next season, he put up 28.0 points per game and shot 42.9% on 3-pointers in the first round against LeBron's Cleveland Cavaliers, but it was still a four-game sweep and he struggled shooting overall (38.6%).
George also had his down moments during the runs to the Eastern Conference Finals. He had one of his worst playoff performances against the Heat in Game 7 of the 2013 Eastern Conference Finals, finishing with just seven points on 2-for-9 shooting in a disheartening 23-point loss for Indiana. That's the closest he has come to the NBA Finals in his career to date, and when the spotlight is that bright, moments like that easily stick in people’s minds. George played much better at the end of the 2014 Eastern Conference Finals, but even moments of brilliance like those are overshadowed by his struggles.
Like most other NBA stars, George has had a mixed bag of great and subpar performances in the postseason. However, it can't be denied that his overall performance in the playoffs has dipped from the regular season. For his career, he's averaging 20.0 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 3.1 assists while shooting 43.3% overall and 38.1% on 3-pointers in the regular season. For the playoffs, those numbers are at 20.0 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 3.9 assists per game on 41.7% shooting from the field and 35.2% on 3-pointers.
Paul George simply hasn't been able to raise his level of play in the postseason enough, and too often he has put forth huge duds in crucial situations. He may not be as bad in the playoffs as people think, but his résumé deserves criticism, especially given the self-proclaimed “Playoff P” moniker. He has a chance to silence those critics, though, by helping the Clippers on a championship run.
