Is Paul George the next player in line destined for NBA greatness the likes of Lakers’ star, Kobe Bryant? Toronto Raptors’ head coach, Dwane Casey, believes so
Dwane Casey has been around the league for some 20 odd seasons, serving as an assistant coach for the Seattle SuperSonics and Dallas Mavericks and head coach of the Minnesota Timberwolves and now the Toronto Raptors. This goes to say, when Casey opens his mouth to talk about the Los Angeles Lakers and “young Kobe Bryant,” he knows what he’s talking about.
With this in mind, after defeating Paul George and the Indiana Pacers on Sunday afternoon, eliminating them from the playoffs, Casey gave PG13 the highest of praise in his post game interview.
Per ESPN, when speaking of George, Casey proclaimed,
"Paul George is back. . .Unbelievable… I tell you what, I remember trying to prepare for a young Kobe Bryant. And this young man reminds me of trying to prepare for a young Kobe Bryant back in the Laker days, like I was back in Seattle. … I think he’s back and I’m happy for him. Now that we’re finished with him, I’m happy for him because he’s a super young man. He represents everything basketball should be about. And he’s back to his … All-Star form."
George may have had a few mishaps in Game 7 against the Raptors, including a pair of costly turnovers down the stretch but without him there is no way the Pacers even force a Game 7.
This post season, Paul George averaged 27.3 points, 7.6 rebounds and 4.3 assists taking his game to a whole new level compared to post-seasons past.
| Season | Age | Tm | Pos | G | GS | MP | FG% | 3P% | 2P% | eFG% | FT% | ORB | DRB | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | PF | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010-11 | 20 | IND | SG | 5 | 5 | 26.6 | .303 | .231 | .350 | .348 | .875 | 1.0 | 4.0 | 5.0 | 1.0 | 1.4 | 2.0 | 1.4 | 2.2 | 6.0 |
| 2011-12 | 21 | IND | SG | 11 | 11 | 33.7 | .389 | .268 | .481 | .447 | .786 | 1.4 | 5.3 | 6.6 | 2.4 | 1.6 | 0.4 | 1.9 | 2.9 | 9.7 |
| 2012-13 | 22 | IND | SF | 19 | 19 | 41.1 | .430 | .327 | .491 | .491 | .727 | 0.8 | 6.6 | 7.4 | 5.1 | 1.3 | 0.5 | 3.9 | 3.8 | 19.2 |
| 2013-14 | 23 | IND | SF | 19 | 19 | 41.1 | .438 | .403 | .462 | .521 | .789 | 0.7 | 6.9 | 7.6 | 3.8 | 2.2 | 0.4 | 2.6 | 2.9 | 22.6 |
| 2015-16 | 25 | IND | SF | 7 | 7 | 39.3 | .455 | .419 | .475 | .528 | .953 | 1.3 | 6.3 | 7.6 | 4.3 | 2.0 | 0.7 | 3.3 | 3.4 | 27.3 |
| Career | 61 | 61 | 38.4 | .427 | .358 | .472 | .497 | .798 | 1.0 | 6.2 | 7.2 | 3.8 | 1.7 | 0.6 | 2.9 | 3.2 | 18.4 |
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 5/2/2016.
This is not the first, nor the last time you’ll hear this sentiment, but George revealed that the game has finally “slowed down” for him, something that players often say when making the leap to super stardom.
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Reported by Scott Agness of Vigilant Sports,
"I think one thing I can really take away is the game just really slowed down and I had a better understanding of my game and how I can attack different defenders and how I can free myself, regardless of how they were going to guard me. I learned a lot. I learned what I was made of."
Hopefully George can build on this performance for next season and carry his team to a deep playoff run going forward.
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Piggybacking off what Casey said, it is amazing to have PG13 back and playing at such a high level, but whether or the 26 year old is really approaching the same level as young Kobe Bryant remains highly questionable.