Player Name: Paul George (Indiana Pacers)
Position: Forward
Height/Weight: 6-foot-9/220 pounds
Why you need to watch him on NBA League Pass: Go ahead, call it a comeback for George, who isn’t hiding from his goals for this season. He is forecasting not just a return to prominence for his Pacers, who went from back-to-back trips to the Eastern Conference finals to out of the playoffs, but he’s talking publicly about his return to the KIA MVP conversation. It’s not far-fetched when you’re one of the few players in the game capable of battling LeBron James for every inch on both ends of the floor the way George has in the past.
In addition to his return from a leg injury that robbed him of all but six games last season, George’s adjustment this season includes the much-publicized experiment with him moving over to power forward. After a choppy start in the preseason opener, George went off for 32 points in a preseason win over the Detroit Pistons. That gave Paul, Pacers boss Larry Bird and coach Frank Vogel all the evidence they needed to continue tinkering with the role of one of the game’s most versatile two-way stars.
The beauty of George’s game lies in his ability to score from anywhere on the floor while also serving as one of the true lock-down perimeter defenders in the league. That makes him a must-see on League Pass alone. He’ll use the doubts of those who’ve forgotten about him to his advantage as he rebuilds his reputation. George’s ascent was interrupted by injury, but it was only a temporary outage. He’s back and it won’t matter much where he plays for a Pacers team that will need him a little bit of everywhere.
— Sekou Smith, NBA.com
