Following Clippers’ Game 1 loss to the Utah Jazz, analyst Kendrick Perkins blasts Paul George amid his inefficient playoff performances.
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Early in his career, Paul George established himself as a strong two-way player. The 6-foot-8 forward is known to get buckets at will, and also prevent the oppositions’ best player from scoring. As PG13 arrived in LA, along with Kawhi Leonard, the Los Angeles Clippers haven’t yet had the success they quite imagined.
After blowing a 3-1 series lead against Denver last year, many fans and even a few analysts pinned the blame on George. His dreadful performance in the Orlando Bubble earned him various nasty nicknames like “Pandemic P”, “Way off P” and “Playoff P”. Clearly, the 7-time All-Star has tarnished the reputation he once had of a megastar.
Even during this 2020-2021 campaign, the 31-year-old had an underwhelming 23.3 points, 6.6 rebounds and 5.2 assists per game, at a modest 47/41/87 shooting splits.
Also Read: Utah Jazz fans chant various names to throw Paul George off in Game 1 against the Jazz
“Paul George is nowhere to be found in this playoffs”: Kendrick Perkins takes a shot at the Clippers star
Unfortunately for Paul George, he is yet to have a standout playoff performance. After a mediocre outing against Dallas in the first round, George had a rather unproductive Game 1 against the Utah Jazz.
Despite being up at the half, LAC blew their 13-point lead and lost Game 1 112-109. Yet again, Paul had an underwhelming performance in the defeat, scoring merely 20 points while shooting an awful 4/17 from the field.
Following several poor playoff performances, analyst Kendrick Perkins decided to grill the 10-year veteran. On ESPN’s “First Take”, Perkins said:
“Can anybody find Paul George? I remember him going on the podcast- “All The Smoke”, and saying that people were gonna pay. Well, right now the only person that’s paying is Steve Ballmer because we don’t know where you are. In the time where it matters that most when Kawhi Leonard and the Los Angeles Clippers need Paul George to step up and elevate his game, where has he been?”
“Think about it. Last series, Game 6 against the Mavericks – 6-from-15 from the field. Game 7, 5-from-15 from the field. Last night (vs Jazz), 4-from-17 from the field.”
“Look, getting 20 points that’s a norm for anybody that’s a star in the league. But Paul George is labelled as a “superstar”. It’s time for him to have one of those 40+ nights.”
Also Read: Jazz Super Star Called On The GOAT To Take Down Kawhi Leonard & Paul George In Game 1
Definitely, Perkins isn’t all wrong here. The Clippers franchise is paying him a whopping $190 million, and, rightfully, are expecting a lot from him. Paul George will have to step his game up during this playoffs. In order to prove his worth, PG will really have to make a tremendous impact for the Clippers.
