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The first time the Oklahoma City Thunder's swingman Paul George christened himself with a nickname – punctuated by a jersey number change to No. 13 just so he could rock “PG-13” back with the Indiana Pacers – he injured himself pretty badly and was sidelined for an entire season with many questioning if he could ever return to the quasi-superstar form his career trajectory was headed.
Fast forward a year or two later and George (now colloquially referred to as “PG-13”), is back playing at a high level albeit in an arguably inconsistent manner, later getting shipped to Oklahoma after making his former team aware of his intentions to test free agency (the dreaded rumor of his move to the Los Angeles Lakers that never goes away), and he's back in the playoffs for the first time since 2014.
With his return to the postseason, George felt that it was time for a new nickname coining the moniker “Playoff P” this time around – in the same vein as the legend of “Playoffs Rondo” and “Playoffs LeBron” in which players elevate their games astronomically on the big stage. With such gall comes great expectations, and while Game 1 sure felt like a “Playoff P” type performance – 36 points, 7 rebounds, and 8 three pointers, with a 65% clip – his relatively poor Game 2 showing (an inefficient double double with just 18 points at 28% shooting), opened the floodgates for criticism and questions about whether the five-time All-Star is regretting drawing attention to himself.
One of them happens to be teammate Carmelo Anthony, who playfully riffs, “You can't give it back now.”
