8p9s Roundtable: The Paul George at Power Forward Experiment
By Ben Gibson
Will this positional disagreement between star and franchise cause lasting problems all season?
Ochoa: If this causes an ongoing issues, the Pacers could be in real trouble. I don’t think this will be a long lasting conversation though. One way or another, Paul will end this getting what he wants. You never know, he may end up liking this position change and all of this will become old news. Playing the 4 is not exactly hurting his game, so he could come around and see things their way. Or, he could continue to resist. Like I said, either way, Paul will not end this with a sour taste in his mouth.
Donahue: Maybe. There’s some fence-mending to do here, but the important thing to remember is that everybody is trying to do and say what they think is the right thing for the franchise. It will largely depend on how Paul and the teamperform. If they’re competitive and Paul is having success, then they’ll get past this relatively easily. If they struggle— or if PG insists on pulling the chute without giving it time to develop— then it’s far more likely to create deeper problems.
Medworth: This one is pretty simple. Wins keep everyone happy, losses get everyone upset. If this team loses a lot of games early (and they very well could), it could be a big mental hurdle.
Will Furr: That strongly depends on 1 thing – if it works. If PG starts at the 4, gets killed on the glass, and can’t defend 4’s, I think it causes major issues. PG might become sulk-y about it, and the team’s going to follow his lead. For better or worse, David West is gone — this is PG’s team, through and through. If it works at the beginning for PG — even if we’re losing – I don’t think it will be an issue at all.
Jon Washburn: There might be lasting problems all season, and those problems might correlate to the small ball shift, but I don’t believe that correlation will equal causation.
Losing will be the root of any and all problems that the Pacers go through this year. Expect the small ball issue to be cited, but don’t believe it to actually be the issue.