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New York, NY (Sports Network) - By George, Indiana looks like it has a rising
star on its hands, while it may take a "Miracle on 34th Street" for the Knicks
to make the playoffs. I've got those stories and more in my latest take on
the NBA.
INDIANA PACERS
The Pacers are starting to open up a lot of eyes around the NBA and none more
recently among the players than second-year shooting guard Paul George.
Drafted 10th overall in 2010 out of Fresno State, George reminds me a little
of Scottie Pippen and Tracy McGrady with his length and athleticism.
The Pacers have a terrific young nucleus of talent with George, Danny Granger,
Roy Hibbert and Darren Collison, but don't be surprised if George turns out to
be the most talented player among the group.
He put on a terrific display of his full skill set in front of a national TV
audience last Friday in Dallas as the Pacers beat the defending champs 98-87.
George hit seven three-pointers and finished with a career-high 30 points, but
also contributed big in other ways, as he racked up nine rebounds, five steals
and five assists with no turnovers.
"He's oozing confidence, as is our whole team," said coach Frank Vogel about
George after the game. "The kid is good at pretty much everything. He's pure
and he's refreshing to coach. He's just got a pure desire to be great and it's
showing up on the court."
Teammate David West can't contain his enthusiasm when he talks about George's
potential. "Paul's got a chance to be a really good ball player -- beyond
really good," said West, a two-time All-Star. "He doesn't know how really
dominant he could be. He's got such great size at the 'two-guard' position,
it's almost like Kevin Durant and the size he has at the small forward
position. To be a 6-foot-8 two-guard who can shoot it, bring it down the
floor, handle it, is as athletic as anybody in the league -- and he's really
just learning how to play."
While George's offensive display against the Mavs really grabbed the
headlines, it's his play at the other end of the floor that is just as
exciting for his coach. At times Vogel will put George on the opposing team's
point guard in the final minutes of a game, and he's shown the ability to stay
in front of them and bother them with his length.
"When [Tracy] McGrady was young, he played no defense, and not only wasn't he
interested, but he wasn't capable," said Vogel. "Paul has learned how to use
his length to space guys like Derrick Rose or Chris Paul. We said, 'Pressure
but space, and make them shoot jumpers over your length. Learn that and you
can become a good ball-containment guy."
"The thing about [Paul] is he's got a knack for anticipating on the level of
Allen Iverson and Eddie Jones -- two great steals guys who know how to play
the passing lanes. [Paul] gambles a little too much and that hurts you
sometimes, but he led our team last year and he leads us this year in
deflections per minute, and he has a knack for blocking shots. What he brings
to the defensive table is just as impressive as what he brings offensively,
which is not the case in most guys like him that are young, second-year guys
with offensive skills."
But Vogel is equally impressed with how much his second-year shooting guard
brings to the table on the offensive end. "You go through the offensive skills
you get from him," said Vogel, where you can post, you can use pick-and-rolls,
you can handle, you're good in the open court, you can shoot the three. He's
probably our most willing passer -- he doesn't force stuff a lot, and he's got
the size to see over the defense. On the passes that a lot of guards having
trouble seeing over big men, he's able to make these passes maybe better than
anyone on our team."
As I mentioned earlier, George was the 10th overall pick in 2010, and I have
to believe a number of GM's have to be kicking themselves for passing on him,
as the likes of Wesley Johnson, Ekpe Udoh, Al-Farouq Aminu and Gordon Hayward
were selected ahead of George.
NEW YORK KNICKS
It took a shocking and unexpected career night from seldom used point guard
Jeremy Lin (25 points) for the Knicks to rally to beat the Nets Saturday at
the Garden for only their third win in 15 games. Mike D'Antoni's team may need
a lot more miracles like that if they even hope to qualify for the playoffs.
That's how bad the Knicks look. They're 9-15, ranking them 10th in the Eastern
Conference, which means they're currently on the outside looking in as far as
the playoff picture is concerned.
D'Antoni and the rest of New York City are waiting with bated breath for the
return of Baron Davis, who now has to be looked upon as the Knicks' savior at
this point. Without any quality point guard play, I don't see this team
turning around a very bad situation. And even if Davis plays well, and that is
a very big if, it may not be enough to get this team into the post season.
What may be even more startling than the Knicks' horrendous play, is that less
than a week ago, when the team had dropped nine of ten games, Tyson Chandler
said they were still capable of winning a championship this year. I assumed he
meant the D-League, but apparently was wrong.
"In all honestly, I still feel like this is a team that can win a
championship. I feel like we definitely have the pieces," said Chandler. "I
feel like we haven't come together yet. It's a process... I feel like guys are
going to have to step up and play roles that they are not necessarily used to.
We get everybody back healthy, we get everybody on the floor at one time, then
we'll see what we got."
It seems to me that the Knicks are lacking in so many areas, that Baron Davis
will not be the cure for their multitude of ailments.
LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS
Kobe Bryant recently said that given all the off-season roster changes, the
Lakers shouldn't expect to have one of the top seeds in the Western
Conference. "Because of the changes in the players and so forth, you just
can't come out of the gates and fight for a No.1 seed or a No.2 seed," said
Bryant . "That's just not realistic, but we want to build and get better and
go into the playoffs with momentum."
Considering the Lakers' problems on the road this season (3-8), I think Bryant
is being a little nonchalant about the prospects of possibly not having the
home court advantage throughout the playoffs. And he's also assuming that
they'll be in the playoffs, which is not a lock at this point. The Lakers'
14-10 record has them tied with the Trailblazers for the sixth and seventh
spot in the Western Conference, and there are four teams in very close
striking distance with the Mavericks just a 1/2 game back, the Rockets one-
game behind, and the Grizzlies and Timberwolves two games back.
With the Lakers lack of depth, any significant injury to either Bryant, Andrew
Bynum or Pau Gasol would likely result in them being spectators come May.
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