Paul George has established himself as one of the best basketball players in the world. He has played in hundreds of basketball games and All-Star contests, numerous playoff series and one Olympic Games, winning a gold medal in 2016 in Rio de Janeiro.
George has his own sneaker and apparel line, lives in a $16 million home, hosts a podcast, and is set to make $354.1 million in career earnings by 2025.
But the Clippers’ future Hall of Fame wing player has never held the Larry O’Brien Trophy, never once appeared in a championship parade. Is time running out?
At 34 years old, George said he feels less pressure on the court to win, revealing after Wednesday’s 123-93 loss to the Dallas Mavericks in Game 5 that some of his competitive fire has ebbed as the years slip by.
“I think the beauty of it is the older I’ve gotten, the less pressure it’s been, honestly,” George said. “I think when it comes down to it, you work your tail off all summer. You train for these moments to where if you fail, you fail, but you just go out there and you give it all you have. Live with the results.
“But as far as pressure, not anymore. I don’t feel that pressure anymore. I’m not out there to prove nothing to anybody.”
George emphasized that he still wants to go out and show up for his Clippers teammates, leave everything on the floor and continue to be a leader but “live with the results.”
The results could include an early end to the Clippers’ once-promising season as soon as Friday. The Clippers are looking to extend the series and their season with a victory in Game 6 in Dallas. If necessary, Game 7 would be played at 5 p.m. Sunday at Crypto.com Arena.
To avoid an early offseason, the Clippers need George and James Harden to step up in Kawhi Leonard’s absence, and avoid the kind of woeful performance the two experienced in Game 5. George made just 4 of 12 shots. Harden finished with seven points on 2-of-12 shooting.
George said he, along with the rest of the team, also needs to adopt an attack mentality against Dallas’ smothering defense. The Mavericks held the Clippers to 37.9% shooting and forced them into making poor decisions from 3-point range, while comfortably shooting 54% from the field.
“(I just need to) see how I can be efficient and just make the game easy for myself,” George said. “I think that’s the key going into this, it’s just making the game easy. Taking what the defense gives me and making the game easy for me.”
Then in the next breath, George showed that his fire hadn’t gone out.
“I’m going to play as hard as I can in Game 6 and give us the best chance I can give ‘em to go and get a win in Dallas,” George said.
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Coach Tyronn Lue said that’s the kind of attitude the Clippers need to take into Friday’s game, not hang their heads.
“If you’re a competitor, and you know what the playoffs are all about, then you will be ready to go on Friday,” Lue said.
Game 6: Clippers at Mavericks (Dallas leads 3-2)
When: 6:30 p.m. Friday
Where: American Airlines Center, Dallas
TV/radio: ESPN, Bally Sports SoCal; 1150 AM