Paul George has played about as well as he possibly could this season for the LA Clippers.
He’s averaging 27.6 points per game, 7.8 rebounds per game, 3.6 assists per game, and a league-leading 3.4 steals per game. Those are MVP-type numbers, especially when factoring in his 50% field goal percentage and 37.5% three-point percentage.
Many of the national pundits questioned whether PG could hold it down while Kawhi Leonard is out for significant time. The great thing is that he absolutely can. The sad thing, however, is that his teammates haven’t helped him win many games to really show for it.
Paul George is doing everything he can to pick up his struggling LA Clippers teammates.
Paul George’s LA Clippers teammates, however, haven’t picked it up themselves.
Currently, Serge Ibaka and Marcus Morris Sr. are injured. There’s nothing they can do about that. However, the Clips needed a big year from Reggie Jackson and haven’t gotten it.
Jackson went from averaging 17.8 points per game in the postseason to 14 per game this year. He went from shooting 48.4/40.8/87.8 to 31.3/29.3/80. That’s a very alarming drop-off, and has affected the Clippers.
It’s not just Jackson though, of course. Other role players like Eric Bledsoe haven’t stepped up themselves. Bledsoe was supposed to have a bounce-back season now that he’s at the one again, and he’s honestly been pretty terrible offensively.
He’s scoring 10 points a contest, which is the lowest he’s ever put out as a starter, and he’s shot 37.5% and 18.8% from three. As you probably guessed, those are the two worst marks of his career.
He’s overall been productive on defense, and actually is averaging 2.2 steals per game. We need more from his offense, however, if we want to see this team winning again.
George is having that MVPG-type season we all knew he was capable of. He needs help, however, from his teammates while the Clippers are shorthanded.