Indiana Pacers All-Star forward Danny Granger has not seen any action this season as he is recovering from a knee injury. Granger’s injury appeared to be a big blow coming into this season as he has averaged over 20 points per game in the last four seasons for The Pacers. The Pacers ended last season by losing to the eventual National Basketball Association Champion Miami Heat in The Eastern Conference Semifinals and they were once again expected to contend in The Eastern Conference with Granger leading the way. In Granger’s absence Pacers head coach Frank Vogel has gotten a tremendous contribution from forward Paul George.
George is in his third season in the league out of Fresno State University and on the season he has picked up the slack for The Pacers as he is averaging 17.2 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 3.8 assists per game. For every year that George has been in The NBA his scoring has gone up. With George’s production leading the way, The Pacers have been in first place in The Central Division for the majority of the season. George’s play has him garnering interest for a spot on The Eastern Conference team at next month’s NBA All-Star Game in Houston, Texas.
George put the basketball world on notice last November when he scored 37 points in The Pacers 115-107 victory over The New Orleans Hornets. George then went for 34 points and 9 boards on December 4th when Indiana defeated their division rival The Chicago Bulls 80-76. For the month of January, George is averaging 20.1 points per game which has been highlighted by a pair of 29-point performances against The Washington Wizards and The Heat respectively. George also had a 31-point showing last Friday night against The Houston Rockets. This month George also has recorded seven double-doubles. What makes George’s scoring so amazing is that The Pacers have won each of these games as some players in The NBA will have big scoring nights, but their team will lose the game. Even when George isn’t scoring he is still effective as was evident in The Pacers 82-81 victory over The Memphis Grizzlies yesterday. George only scored 12 points in 43 minutes of action, but he was one assist shy of a triple-double.
At 6’8″, George is a very versatile wing-player and he is a tremendous slasher to the basket as he tends to play in the point-forward role for The Pacers. Granger is expected to return at some point in the second half of the season which should work like a trade for The Pacers. George’s explosion this season will allow Vogel to ease Granger back into game shape as he has another scorer now to take some pressure away from Granger.
The Pacers are currently in third place in The Eastern Conference as they are two games behind The Heat for first place. George and a healthy Granger give Vogel a duo that he is hopeful will contend with LeBron James and Dwayne Wade of The Heat in a playoff series. In such a short period of time George has come a long way in The NBA. Three years ago he was a player that most people didn’t know about coming out of college to a man that is leading his team in scoring while being considered for a spot in The All-Star Game. George is indeed showing that he is a star in the making for The Pacers.
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