Paul George Reflects on Game 4 Struggles

Paul George: 'If I shoot the ball better, this series would be a lot different'

Transcript

00:00One of the biggest surprises the L.A. Clippers first-round series the Mavericks

00:03so far is how poorly Paul George has been playing. He was fantastic in the

00:08bubble seeding games shooting 50% of the point range averaging a little over 25

00:12points per game and he was fantastic in game one of the playoffs as well with

00:1727 points and shooting a dagger three-pointer late in the fourth quarter.

00:22But after game two George has played it truly horribly both offensively and

00:26defensively. In game two he shot 4 of 17 from the field and 2 of 10 from 3 to go

00:31for 14 points. In game 3 he was 3 of 16 from the field and 1 of 8 from 3 for 11

00:36points. And it's tonight's game 4 George was 3 of 14 from the field and 1 of 7

00:41from 3 going for 9 points. Overall in these past three games he's shooting 10

00:45of 47 from the field, 425 from 3 and he's collected just 34 points overall. The

00:51Clippers won this series against the Dallas Mavericks. They expected to win it in five

00:55games at most and George has struggled to extend that and he knows it. After the

00:59game he said quote if I make shots this series could be a little different and

01:02that's the obvious of course that's just what it comes down to. George says he's

01:06confident in the shots he's taking and that he expects to make them however his

01:09play on the court shows anything but confidence right now. He looks timid in

01:13his decision-making, his shooting and his defense. His entire game doesn't look

01:17like the George we saw during the seeding games or even part of the season

01:20as well. If there's anything he can do to help the Clippers at this point it'd be

01:23to at least attack the rim which he has done well in these past couple games and

01:26he knows he can do. After the game George also says quote I think just spend a

01:31little more time closer to the basket especially with these smaller defenders

01:34just find my rhythm around the basket a little sooner. Easy layups, easy jumpers,

01:38face-ups, a couple more post-ups, try to play in closer to the ball through

01:42before I start playing on the perimeter. The Clippers traded an unprecedented

01:45amount of capital for Paul George and for this moment. For anyone who forgot

01:49the Clippers traded Shangos Alexander, Daniel Gallinari, five first-round picks

01:53in order to swap two other first-round picks in the near future. He needs to be

01:56better in game five on Tuesday. The Clippers and Mavericks take the floor

02:00for game five on Tuesday at 9 p.m. Eastern Time.