Paul George is still elite and it’s time to talk about it

When Paul George was traded to the Boston Celtics back in July, it became a “summer of discontent.” Obviously, it was because they traded George for Jaylen Brown to the rival Philadelphia 76ers, but even the most optimistic Bostonian would tell you there were so many different outcomes when it came to the potential of George’s play for the Celtics.

I am happy to say through eight games this season, George is exceeding those expectations and then some, becoming a leader for this team both on and off the court.

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In the Celtics win over the Milwaukee Bucks, George finished with a team high 25 points along with 5 assists, 4 steals and 3 rebounds on 8-18 shooting from the field and 5-9 shooting from three. George hit some clutch shots in the fourth quarter after Milwaukee surged back to erase a 22-point deficit, but he was once again the closer Boston needed to end up with a win.

There were questions on how the team would look without Jayson Tatum in this contest, especially after George was out against the Houston Rockets on November 2nd in a 109-93 loss, but I would argue both of these strengthened the argument for how important Paul George really is to this Celtics team.

With George out against Houston, Boston’s non-Tatum lineups were abysmal, finishing with only 14 points on 4-23 (17.3%) shooting from the field and 3-14 (21.4%) from three while getting outscored by 16 points. George would have made a huge different. Before the Bucks game, he had a+26.2 net rating and 140.0 offensive rating when Tatum is off the floor, showing that he can keep Boston afloat when Jayson Tatum rests.

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Not only did Paul George hit the clutch shots that were needed, he also played 35 minutes, the 2nd most he’s played all season so far. George played the entire first and fourth quarters and when asked about his rotation, head coach Joe Mazzulla said, “…first half, he kind of had a good groove going, so I wanted to keep him in there. Second half I trust him for those 12 minutes straight in the 4th quarter. So managing the 3rd quarter and then putting him in to start the 4th, I knew he’d be in position to deliver…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/paul-george-still-elite-time-120000184.html

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Publish date : 2026-11-05 12:00:00

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