Paul George doesn’t want to play power forward.
The Indiana Pacers, it seems, do not care.
Head coach Frank Vogel is, per the Indianapolis Star‘s Candace Buckner, planning on trotting out a starting lineup comprising George Hill, Monta Ellis, C.J. Miles, George and Ian Mahinmi when the regular season tips off. That keeps in theme with the Pacers’ offseason infatuation with versatility and small ball. It’s a lineup they haven’t traditionally relied upon in the past, and one that, at full strength, should score a lot of points, something they’ve grappled with over the last few years.
But George isn’t digging this change, per Buckner:
Paul George now on @JMV1070 about his new PF role: "I'm not thrilled on it."
— Candace Buckner (@CandaceDBuckner) September 24, 2015
Wait, there’s more.
Also from Buckner:
However, when asked about Vogel’s projected starting five, George said: “That’s kinda new to me. We talked about it some (but) for him to say it in the papers, I guess he’s pretty confident on me starting as the power forward. So that was new to me.
“I don’t think I’m at that point in my career where I should be changing positions. I think guys do that later in their career. They put on weight, (begin) lacking physical attributes as far as being quick, so I don’t necessarily feel the need to play a different position, especially coming back into a new season and starting fresh again. So it’s a change, it’s definitely a change. We’ll see how it goes.”
George, speaking a couple hours after Vogel at the Brickyard Crossing Golf Course for the Pacers Foundation Golf Outing, however, did said he’s willing to explore a position change.
“I told them I’m open for a change. I wasn’t extremely thrilled about it when they first presented it to me,” George said, “but the way the league is going and my playing style, I think I can fit right into it. We’ll see how it goes during camp whether I’m comfortable with it or not, then we’ll just make that decision from there. But to start it out, I’m open for the change.”
Give George credit for his first-rate backtracking. It’s clear he’s not thrilled, but he’s not going full Markieff Morris and demanding a trade at the first sniff of change.
This is the direction in which the league is headed. Lineups don’t necessarily need to be small, but they need to play small. You want shooting out of your power forward position. Whether that consists of you throwing out someone like George, who is listed at 6’9″ but is probably taller, or someone like rookie Kristaps Porzingis, who is taller than 7’0″, doesn’t matter. You just need to get more offensive versatility from the 4 spot.
George is still kind of working his way back from a broken leg, and playing power forward could be brutal on him some nights. Power forwards aren’t as burly as they once were, but you still get the occasional Zach Randolph, and defending him will take a physical toll.
Still, by starting George at power forward, the Pacers are keeping up with the times. And he’ll just have to figure out a way to make the most it.
