Paul George had his coming out party for the Thunder in Friday’s 120-111 victory over the Clippers. The former longtime Pacers standout dropped 42 points to go along with 9 rebounds and 7 assists. After being largely absent from Oklahoma City’s late game plans during the team’s recent rough patch, George showed the scoring prowess that has made him one of the league’s premiere players.
George, 27, is set to hit the free agent market next year and it is no guarantee that he will re-sign with the Thunder. However, the team invested heavily into fielding a productive team this offseason, trading for George and Carmelo Anthony. With reigning NBA Most Valuable Player Russell Westbrook in the fold, the expecation was that OKC would be a competitive threat to the defending champion Warriors.
Despite Friday’s win, the Thunder are still in 12th place in the Western Conference with an uninspiring 5-7 record. To his credit, George has not sounded the alarms about his new team’s slow start, telling Tim Bontemps of The Washington Post that OKC’s plan is to gradually acclimate as a unit.
“We have a whole year to figure it out,” George said. “We can’t really try to rush this. It’s something that’s step-by-step, day-by-day [and], at this point, game-by-game. We’ve got to slowly get on the same page.”
What do you think? Does George have a point? Are the Thunder still capable of developing stronger team chemistry and ultimately play like one of the Western Conference’s top teams? Or, do the Thunder have too many dominating personalities that will make it harder to form a cohesive unit?
Sound off in the comments below!
70 games left, he’s right. All they have to do is get to the 8th seed. If they are playing lights out by then, it won’t matter.
I think they will settle in to a 5/6 seed when it’s all said and done and have potential to make a run to the WCF. Don’t see them taking down GS though. Still think this is GS and Boston’s year
First, the Thunder need to figure out roles. Russ should be the primary playmaker, PG the primary scorer, and Melo the go to guy. This also means that Russ and Melo will have to sacrifice shot attempts.
Second, the Thunder need to take quicker shots. Too many times I see the Big 3 pass up on an open shot and take 5 dribbles to shoot a contested shot. Taking quicker shots should quicken the pace and improve their offense.
I think they will be fine. And people who think Golden State already has it locked up are crazy. The season just started. Players can get hurt or go into slumps and players can get hot and go on a tear. We don’t know what’s going to happen but I do think the Thunder will be fine and will make the playoffs
The Thunder have to figure out who will finish games. In the playoffs last season against the Cavs, Paul George went off publicly against C.J. Miles for missing the last shot. George plays best in pick and role. Carmelo, Russ, and Paul have to focus on getting the best shot and including Steven Adams.
I think they are behind Golden State and Houston.