Paul George isn’t down with the home crowd booing his Indiana Pacers.
He does, however, understand it.
From the Indianapolis Star‘s Jim Ayello:
Paul George hears you, Pacers fans. He hears you booing, and he wants you to know: He gets it.
But it doesn’t help.
“They pay their money, their hard-earned money to watch us play. They got the right to do whatever they want,” George said after practice Tuesday. “It doesn’t hurt me. It doesn’t hurt my feelings. Just know we work harder off of cheers than boos.”
Fair enough, Paul. And kudos to you for calling out the atmosphere without actually belittling it or making any demands.
The Pacers’ season has been weird, which in turn hasn’t given the fans much to cheer for. Indiana is 22-22 and playing the definition of middling basketball. Its’ 18th in offensive efficiency, 14th in defensive efficiency and on pace to finish with the Eastern Conference’s eighth-best record and render themselves a sacrificial lamb against the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round of the playoffs.
Still, the Pacers have been pretty good at home this season. They are one of only a handful of teams to clear the 16-win mark in their own territory thus far, and until their loss against the New York Knicks on Monday, they hadn’t dropped a game at home since Dec. 22.
So maybe chill with the boos Pacers peeps. Your team could be much worse on its own turf.
