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Despite loss, Paul George’s brilliance reminds us that he’s back
- Updated: May 2, 2016
2:27 AM ET
TORONTO — Twenty minutes after earning the biggest win of his coaching career, Toronto Raptors head coach Dwane Casey uttered a declaration that will reverberate in the NBA after the excitement of the Raptors’ 89-84 Game 7 win over the Indiana Pacers fades.
“Paul George is back,” Casey said.
Out of all the takeaways from this up-and-down series — one which culminated in dramatic fashion as the Raptors will play in the second round for the first time in 15 years — the biggest storyline is that George regained his place amongst the game’s elite on the league’s biggest stage. Over the past two weeks, George averaged 27.3 points, 7.6 rebounds and 4.3 assists in 39.3 minutes a game, almost single-handedly leading his team to a series triumph over the Eastern Conference’s second-ranked team.
That George was able to accomplish all of this not even two years after suffering a gruesome broken leg injury wasn’t lost on the 26-year-old.
“If they would have told me I would have a chance to lead my team the first year back,” George said. “Give us a chance to advance to the second round, bring [the playoffs] back to Indiana after missing it last season. And then have to go against five guys, five different defenders, have to figure out how to score and make plays, as well as guard. If you told me I would have [done] all that this season and be healthy, I probably would have laughed. It’s been a long journey. I’m very proud, very proud of my guys. It’s been a good season for us.”
The Pacers were understandably sad after the season-ending loss on Sunday, but those feelings were muted by the fact that there is no longer any doubt whether George can be the type of superstar player who can lead a team to a title. Now the question becomes what do Larry Bird and the Pacers have to do in order to make things easier on George?
When the question of roster improvement was posed to head coach Frank Vogel, he turned the conversation back toward the brightest …
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