Paul George on how the NBA game has changed

MANILA, Philippines – Whether you call it the age of “advanced analytics” or the NBA the Golden State Warriors have created, what’s clear is the style of play in the league today is much different compared to what it was 10, 20 years ago.

Mid-range jumpers are taken less and less as teams have hired researchers who conclude that attempting more 3-pointers and shots near the rim are more effective and lead to better chances at winning. 

Tempo and pace are also very important, with teams opting to go quicker and faster in order to get more points on the board easier. 

Such tactics have led to smaller lineups on the floor, and none was more prominent than when Draymond Green, a small forward tweener when he entered the NBA, was used at center for most of the final 3 wins of Golden State in the 2015 NBA Finals.

“The game has definitely transitioned to where you’re playing it further and further away from the basket,” admits Paul George, the Indiana Pacers’ 6th year superstar. 

“It’s just a different game. It’s almost like having 4 guards now and one big man.”

The Pacers are the latest team to join the NBA “smallball” revolution. After spending a few seasons as an Eastern Conference contender utilizing an old-school, rough and rugged frontline of David West and Roy Hibbert that challenged LeBron James’ Miami Heat, team president Larry Bird reconstructed the team’s line-up entering this season.

Hibbert was traded to the Lakers and David West didn’t buy-in to the last year of his contract before he signed with San Antonio. 

Monta Ellis, a combo guard, was signed to a 4-year deal to complement head coach Frank Vogel’s new system that’s predicated on speed and spreading the floor.

“It’s just a luxury to have a big guard that can play that forward spot and match up with a traditional big. The game is definitely changing. You know, it’s changing and it’s only going to I think at this rate and training I think it’s only going to transition to more and more bigger guards and more perimeter oriented game,” George told reporters.

Two-way players

For comparison, this year’s Indiana Pacers have already attempted 1,256 3-pointers through 53 games, while the Pacers from 2014 took 1,542 in 82 regular season games.

Lately the Pacers have gone back to a two-big lineup up front with Ian Mahinmi and Myles Turner starting at center and power forward, respectively.

But they can do that because Turner, a 6-foot-11, 19-year-old rookie, has the ability to shoot from far mid-range and even beyond the 3-point line. Mahinmi can’t shoot jumpers but is a pick-and-roll threat – an important tool to have if a team wants an offense that really spreads the floor.

Indiana also has a few line-ups that have CJ Miles, a wing, playing the power forward spot to provide another 3-point shooter even if he has to defend bigger guys on the other end.

“I haven’t played [power] forward since the beginning of the season. I moved back to the 3-spot, but I have become a more complete player playing with a smaller group just because triple-drive game, understanding space and understanding where guys are at on the floor, playing a faster style,” said George, who’s playing in his third All-Star Game this weekend in Toronto.

George is returning this season from a compounded leg fracture that held him out for 76 games last season, but has had his most impressive campaign to date with averages of 23.3 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 4.0 assists a game. 

He may not be in the MVP conversation, which he’s okay with, but he’s re-established himself as one of the premiere two-way players in the league today and then some.

Indiana, currently sixth in the Eastern Conference, also has a 28-25 record which should be better if not for late mental lapses in close games earlier this season due to unfamiliarity that’s usual with a new roster.

“So it was a different adjustment that I think added on to me playing traditional big to now learning how to play with [a new style]. So I’ve definitely learned a lot,” said the 25-year-old George.

“I think we definitely should be one of the top echelon teams in the East,” added the All-Star. “We would have been had we learned how to close games out sufficient where we wanted to be. But the East is competitive this year and every team ends up slotted where they are right now is deserving of that position.” – Rappler.com