After being out of competitive basketball for close to 10 months, Indiana Pacers’ star Paul George believes he is up and ready for a whole new season of basketball.
In fact if he had the chance, George believes he can go up against rival Lebron James and maybe even the Golden State Warriors. To cut it all short, George is all fired up and ready to take on all comers.
"I'm dunking on both legs, and if we were in the finals tonight, I'd be ready for LeBron" says George in jest during the Caroline Symmes Celebrity Softball Challenge in a report from the Associated Press.
It will be recalled that George suffered a horrific accident which saw him break his right leg during a TEAM USA scrimmage in August last year. George landed awkwardly on the basketball stanchion which left a gruesome sight in front of a shocked crowd.
George did manage to return this season though he still missed majority of the Pacers’ campaign. He was out for 76 games in total and debuted only on April 5, 2015.
Though he was not the Paul George of old (at least not yet), his sight on the hardwood was a big sigh of relief, particularly for the Pacers followers.
In six games, George was able to put in decent numbers. He averaged 8.8 points and 3.7 rebounds while averaging just 15.2 minutes per game.
Apparently the intent of fielding in George during the latter stages of the Pacers campaign was more of a break-in rather than to get help. That was intended to get George into the groove of things as the Pacers look forward to a healthy George next season.
And based on latest updates on his progress, it looks like George is close to his old form.
Coach Frank Vogel has seen the changes and believes that George is back in form and good to go. Though the current NBA season has yet to close, George has more time to fine-tune himself as the Pacers try to pick up the pieces after failing to advance in this year’s NBA playoffs.
"He looks really good," Vogel said. "Obviously he was back and healthy enough to play last season, and now he's taken another step. We're encouraged with what he's been able to do" in the same report from the Associated Press.
At only 25 years of age, his absence left a big hole for the Pacers. Despite his absence though, the Pacers almost made the playoffs but were eased out by the Brooklyn Nets.
Had the Pacers caught the last slot, they would have played the no. 1 seeded Atlanta Hawks.
Despite all that, the Pacers should be a team to watch in the 2015-16 NBA wars. George is back and is expected to provide the spark the Pacers missed in the 2014-15 season.
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