Paul George Named Eastern Conference’s Player of the Month

Paul George was named the Kia Eastern Conference’s Player of the Month on Thursday.

After the month Paul George has had with the Indiana Pacers, it should be surprising to no one that he earned the Eastern Conference’s Player of the Month award.

So far this season he’s been averaging 27.2 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 4.4 assists, as well as 1.6 steals a game. Perhaps most impressively he’s shooting better from 3-point range (46.3%) than he is overall (45.5%) this season.

Paul George last won the award in November of 2013 when the Pacers started off the season with a 15-1 record.

PG led the conference in points and is 4th in the league at the moment as the Pacers sit on a 12-5 record after last night’s win over the Los Angeles Clippers. He’s currently on a 12-game streak of scoring 20 or more points and was scored over 30 points in five of his last 6 games. His peak so far this season came in a 40 point game against the Washington Wizards.

What makes all of this a little more impressive is the fact that he’s doing this so early in the season. He only played in 6 games last season after his breaking leg, and understandably didn’t look comfortable in those game. For him to come out and dominate so quickly comes as a surprise, but another part of it is the fact he’s playing better than he was even before the injury.

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His current averages are career highs and he’s shooting a career-best 46.3 percent from 3-point range, which is better than Stephen Curry’s 45.9% mark so far this season. It might be hard to keep up this pace, but even if PG falls slightly back to Earth he’ll still be playing at a level that matches up well with the league’s best.

Even here at 8 Points, 9 Seconds, we weren’t predicting a Paul George renaissance before the season started. We were very nervous after the Pacers 0-3 start and as PG struggled to break the 20 point barrier through 4 games, it was starting to look like the fears that he might not ever be what he once was might be true.

But since then, Paul George has been getting better game by game and inserted himself into the MVP conversation.

Thanks to Paul George returning even better than before, the Indiana Pacers are one of the best team’s in the NBA so far this season.

Next: Solomon Hill Honors Paul George with the 3-Sword

The Pacers have a long December ahead of them, but if Paul George continues playing this way it may not be so tough after all.