Los Angeles Clippers star Paul George has become the butt of plenty of jokes thanks to his playoff struggles. The way the Clippers went out sad in the bubble, with George hitting the side of the backboard against the Denver Nuggets in Game 7, is etched in the minds of many.
George's rough showing in last year's playoffs, especially in that Game 7 as the Clippers completed their collapse, spawned endless Pandemic P memes. His comments after the series didn't help matters, and the drama involving some of his former Clippers teammates and even with players around the NBA seem to suggest some sort of vendetta against him.
However, this all has seemed to spawn a revenge tour. While a lot of the NBA's focus of late has been on Stephen Curry and Nikola Jokic, Paul George has been lighting those Pandemic P memes on fire with an incredible stretch of play following a slump that coincided with a foot issue.
PG-13 continued his stretch of dominant play on Tuesday night against the Portland Trail Blazers, single-handedly willing the Clippers to a victory in crunch time. He scored 10 of LA's last 14 points, including the final six, to give them a 113-112 victory. He won the game with two free throws in the final seconds.
Paul George finished the game with 33 points, marking the sixth time in his last seven games he hit the 30-point mark. His averages over this stretch: 32.9 points, 6.7 rebounds and 5.6 assists per game while shooting 54.2% from the field and 47.5% on 3-pointers.
The 30-year-old has been doing this of late with Kawhi Leonard sidelined, and Leonard will be out for a while longer. Despite all of their injuries (Patrick Beverley and Serge Ibaka are also out), the Clippers are now up to 41-19 on the season, which is third in the Western Conference and just three games behind the Utah Jazz and 1.5 games behind the Phoenix Suns. LA has won nine of 10 to get to this spot, with George leading the way.
If the Clippers can ever get fully healthy, they're going to be an absolute beast come playoff time. Rajon Rondo has added another dimension they didn't have last season, and George seems ready to cast aside the playoff demons. Yes, PG-13 actually has to step up to the plate and perform when it matters most. A lot of people still won't take George and the Clippers seriously unless they make an NBA Finals run or even win a championship.
That title run very well could happen, but for right now, Paul George deserves a lot of credit for what he's doing right now as he puts those Pandemic P memes to rest. The slander needs to stop.
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