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How Does Paul George Stack Up Against Power Forwards in the East?

By Andrew Turpen

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Paul George is healthy, the Indiana Pacers have unveiled their makeover for the 2015-16 NBA season, and it is looking quite impressive.

Essentially, Indiana traded Roy Hibbert and David West for Jordan Hill, Monta Ellis, each of which will fit into Indiana’s new up-tempo style of play.

Not to mention that the loss of Roy Hibbert’s $15 million contract provided the cap space needed to bring back Rodney Stuckey, a critical piece to Indiana’s bench success last season. While the leadership and consistency of David West and Roy Hibbert’s rim protection will be missed, it is safe to say that (at least for July) Indiana has had a very successful offseason.

Over the past several weeks, Pacers President Larry Bird has made it abundantly clear that Paul George will likely see a decent dosage of minutes at the power forward position next season. That may sound a bit concerning at first, given that George does not have the traditional power forward build. He is a lean fit for the position. Coming off a leg injury as severe as George’s, banging inside with bigs may not sound like a great idea.

Before we get carried away, let’s take a look at how the Eastern Conference looks at the power forward spot:

Indiana: Paul George: 6’9” – 220

Boston: Amir Johnson

Brooklyn: Thaddeus Young

New York: Carmelo Anthony

Philadelphia: Nerlens Noel

Toronto: Patrick Patterson

Chicago: Pau Gasol

Cleveland: Kevin Love, Tristan Thompson

Detroit: Ersan Ilyasova

Atlanta: Paul Millsap

Milwaukee: Giannis Antetokounmpo

Charlotte: Frank Kaminsky,Cody Zeller

Miami: Chris Bosh

Orlando: Aaron Gordon

Washington: Nenê

Based on the names on this list, there are only a handful of situations in which Indiana would prefer a more traditional power forward to Paul George. For instance, guys like Chris Bosh and Paul Millsap tend to more jump shot oriented, something that George has proven he can guard effectively.

What length PG may surrender on the defensive end, he will more than make up for on the other end of the court. Most opposing fours in the Eastern Conference are simply not athletic enough to keep George from having his way offensively, especially from behind the arc.

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On the other hand, when Indiana squares off with Cleveland, the Pacers will certainly stick Paul George on LeBron James and favor a more traditional power forward to handle the likes of Tristan Thompson and Kevin Love. Other players like Nenê could also pose problems for George in the paint, in which case Indiana would again return to a more traditional lineup at power forward.

In most scenarios, particularly in the Eastern Conference, Indiana would have a significant advantage with Paul George occasionally rotating to the four spot. George is athletic and long enough to handle most spot-up forwards and is more than effective enough on the offensive end to take advantage of slow defenders or loose coverage due to help defense down low.

Larry Bird is more than confident in Paul George’s ability to play power forward from time to time, given that the modern NBA has been trending away from traditional, physical fours. “If you look around the league like I did and go through every team, it’s not as bad as you think it is,” Bird said to reporters last week. “He’ll do fine.”

It remains to be seen how the starting lineup will take shape before the NBA season gets under way in a few short months. Whatever the case may be, Larry Bird and company seem to have developed a squad that can effectively handle most opposing lineups, big or small.

Next: 'Pacers are Going Hickory: All the Way!

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