The time for talk is over when it comes to Paul George and wondering about his health, he’s 100% and ready to go. A lot has changed since he was gone, including a reformed Indiana Pacers that is without Roy Hibbert and David West. George now has Monta Ellis who will get you 20 points guaranteed and George Hill, who I don’t rate at all but he’s there for whatever he does.
And don’t let the injury deter you from his level, he still has MVP aspirations and will prove that as soon as the season comes around.
“Honestly, I feel like I’m better than the Paul George I was (before),” George, who played sparingly and cautiously in the Pacers’ final six games of last season, told USA TODAY Sports. “I do understand that I’m coming back as a fresh new player, with a new team, but I’m not limiting myself. I still have the aspiration of being the MVP, still have the aspiration of being one of the best defenders, one of the best scorers in the league. All of that is still there. But now I just feel like I’m much … wiser. I’m a better ballhandler, a better playmaker. I just feel like everything is just enhanced having a year out from the game.”
“(The injury) really made me put everything in perspective, that this game can be gone at any second,” George said. “I had to look at the reality of it, that I’ve got to enjoy it. Enjoy this ride, enjoy this journey. It made me change the way I look at a lot of things. I’m much more happy.
“I’m loving the position that I’m in and where I’ve been blessed to be. I just see things in a different light now being away from the game for a year.”
Those last two paragraphs were particularly heartwarming. To find happiness out of a millisecond of unimaginable pain, it’s what life is all about, falling down and having the will to get back up and be better, smarter for it.
