Exactly.
Jesus. Is Paul George the dumbest player in the history of the league.
He's unbelievably stupid. I won't go through the inordinate amount stupidity by him in that game, but that attempted throw down dunk was just - there are no words for the stupidity. He's made that throw down dunk with a defender once this year. He's missed about 12 times.
Glad Ty Lue didn't play PJ and went with Zu in for D at the end. What a revelation. Zu is so underused offensively, it's criminal.
Kawhi must feel like he's playing against Paul George half the time.
I don’t think that was stupidity, I think it was emotional. I think he is very frustrated over his shooting slump at a very crucial time of his career and during the last big contract negotiation he will undergo. Ideally, he would be playing at the best level he is capable of during these negotiations and instead he is playing at probably the worst. So he is trying to force things, and the harder he tries the worst it gets. I think he is in his own head way too much.
Nothing in his career points to a low Bball IQ player. Emotional frustration, yes. Stupid, no.
I don't agree. At all. First of all, he is in nothing resembling a shooting slump:
March 9th vs. Chicago - 8 for 16 with 22 points
March 11 vs. Minnesota - 5 for 10 (and 10 for 10 from the line) - 22 points
March 13 vs. New Orleans- 10 for 21 - 26 points
March 15 vs. Atlanta - 9 for 20 - 26 points
March 20 vs. Portland 10 for 18 - 27 points
March 22 vs. Portland - 10 for 14 for 31 points
March 24 vs. Philly - 7 for 15 for 18 points
March 25 vs. Indiana - 12 for 18 for 26 points
March 27 vs. Philly - 7 for 18 for 22 points
March 29 vs. Orlando - 4 for 14 for 14 points
He's actually put up fine shooting numbers over the last few games and had less of his 5 for 17 clunkers than usual. He is what he his and has always been.
a) He shoots poorly in the first half. He comes out of the gate (as does Kawhi) chucking up lazy off the dribble long shots which inevitably gets us in the hole at the end of the first quarter.
b) In the third quarter he plays well and we get back in the game - he gets us to even, making up the crappy first quarter play.
c) Fourth quarter, overall he's poor. He can make a shot here or there but when it's absolute clutch time, you can't count on him. (You can certainly count on Kawhi though). In garbage time in games that are over, his three point shooting is magnificent.
Other patterns:
He is one of the best players in the league against very weak teams. He loads up on them. (which is why if he's on your team, you'll have a floor).
He is ok against mediocre teams.
Against good teams with strong D, he's almost always poor.
His decision-making is horrific:
The dunk attempt was one example yesterday. Another was when he had a point black shot 2 feet from the basket - Plumlee was getting ready for the rebound - and he inexplicably passed to Plumlee - and then proceeded to blame Plumlee for not being prepared for a ridiculous pass (which was even a little behind Plumlee).
He consistently gets stuffed when going to the basket. That happens at the very least twice a game. It's poor decision-making only because when he Euro-steps he's fine, but when he doesn't, it's almost always trouble. So don't go straight to the basket and show the ball. (This is when he throws his arms up and pretends he was fouled.)
He cannot lead a fast break because his decision-making is horrible.
He - like Westbrook - simply can't score on a drive with a defender when going at full speed. This always results in an easy bucket on the other end. Yet he continues to try it. A good decision-maker would minimize this and know their weaknesses.
He provides at least 3 live-ball turnovers that result in easy buckets for the other team. This happens when he cross dribbles in front of himself and shows the ball. This is always a bad decision, but he chooses to continue to do it.
He will always chuck up a three (and miss) if he makes two 3's in a row. This is a bad decision. No need to pre-decide to do that.
He will always hold the ball and go one one one on the last play in a quarter when we have the ball with about 20 seconds. The result is a step-back three. The notion of a pass in that instance is off the table. This is another bad pre-determined decision.
He is money when shooting from 8 to 12 feet, yet he doesn't even attempt that shot more than twice a game.
I could list more.
Finally, if your theory is correct - that he's playing poorly because he's in a contract year - that's all the more reason to stop riding this pony. Contract years for a professional athlete, should make you up your game. If that kind of pressure adversely affects you, then please, move one.
