Utah Jazz forward Joe Ingles kept it real JJ Redick when asked about Paul George beef. He thought that was the only way he could have a meaningful impact on the game.
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The Utah Jazz have gone completely unnoticed this season despite sitting at the 3rd spot in the Western Conference. They had a blowout victory over Minnesota Timberwolves last night. Donovan Mitchell had himself another 30-point night, 4th in a row. The Jazz is currently on a 5-game win streak after a close loss to New Orleans Pelicans last month.
Last season they were the top seed in the west and clearly, that momentum has translated to this season as well. Jazz fell short to Paul George and the Clippers in the Conference Semi-Finals. their young core is capable of many championship runs in the coming years.
Their sixth man Joe Ingles joined JJ Redick on his podcast and explained why he has to get under a player’s skin sometimes. In addition, he recounted the entire beef with Paul George back in 2018.
Joe Ingles has no doubt that Paul George would destroy him one on one
Joe Ingles and Paul George went back and forth during a regular-season game in 2018. That seemingly carried forward to when OKC and Jazz met in the first round of playoffs that year. Throughout the series, Ingles tried to annoy PG and the latter fell for it sometimes.
“Of course Paul George is a million times better than me and I’m not doubting that at all,” said Ingles. “It’s what I have to do. I try and stand close to him the whole game and just annoy him. If we play one-on-one in the summer he’s going to kill me every possession on both ends of the floor offensively and defensively. There’s got to be some sort of difference in the game that I have to make.”
He did not try to justify his actions and accepted his position when compared to a star like Paul George.
OKC, with two superstars, ultimately lost to the Utah Jazz led by rookie Donovan Mitchell. Clearly, Joe Ingles’ strategy worked for his team. However, Paul George got his revenge when the LA Clippers defeated the #1 Utah Jazz last season without Kawhi Leonard.
