Miami Heat, Pat Riley could help Paul George reach his potential

Playing the 4

In February, Gregg Doyel of the Indy Star grabbed headlines regarding George’s reluctance to play the 4:

"He’s not merely a potential power forward — he’s the prototype in today’s smaller, sleeker NBA that demands a combination of size, skill and speed from that slot. Paul George has all three. But he won’t play the four. George refused to do it last season, complicating Larry Bird’s offseason remake of what had been one of the league’s bigger, slower lineups. And McMillan indicated before Thursday’s game that George has declined to do it this season even now, with the Pacers missing two power forwards. This is what McMillan told me when I asked him Thursday: Any thought, on an emergency basis, of putting Paul at the four? “We’ve tried that, but Paul is …” McMillan said, then paused, unsure how to finish that sentence. Paul is … what? McMillan tried again. “Um, we’ve tried that some — but no,” he said. “I wish it was that easy, and it really should be, but it’s not.” It really should be that easy? Man, that’s as close as you’ve ever heard any of George’s bosses — McMillan, Bird, former coach Frank Vogel — say what’s on everyone’s mind: Paul George is putting himself ahead of the team. George says otherwise, of course. When I asked him Thursday night if he’d play the four, he said he would. Maybe. “It might get to that point of trying to stretch the floor,” he said, “trying to speed us up, try to bring something different, something new to this team.” Those are George’s words about playing power forward. These are McMillan’s: “That’s something he doesn’t want to do.”"

The crux of the article was to explain that George was complaining about the team not adapting to the modern ways of the league, while at the same time absolving himself for not playing at the 4 spot.

Despite his differences with the coaching staff and the front office, George was able to compile another terrific season and the Pacers still made the playoffs. But George’s best stretch happened late in the season (and maybe because he was gunning for an All-NBA selection, which could make him eligible for a lucrative designated player extension).  Moreover, the Pacers looked disorganized, and were completely out-classed by the Cavaliers in the first round. It’s unclear how the team moves forward if George isn’t willing to play the 4 in smaller lineups.