Paul George closed his two preseason games with a combined 18 points and 3 of 14 from three.
Last night, in the season opener against the Detroit Pistons, he went to 38 points with 7 of 12 from beyond the arc.
Neither as good as that nor as bad as the preseason suggested. The happy medium between these two extremes is likely (and desirable) the peak of virtue the 36-year-old forward can aspire to in his first campaign with the Boston Celtics. And for the Celtics’ sake, let’s hope it is.
Son las lowlights más lowlights que existieron jamás https://t.co/dFF1w8K6RP
— nbamaniacs (@nbamaniacs) October 15, 2026
Ahead of him lie two years of contract and a total of $110 million ($54M this season, $56M the next), with the second year being a player option. Brad Stevens knew exactly what he was doing when he made George the only player to come back in return (the rest were Draft picks) in the Jaylen Brown trade. Expensive, yes. Toxic, not at all.
George arrives in Boston to have every last drop of basketball he has left squeezed out of him, something the player says he is extremely happy about. “I’m euphoric. I’m really eager to start this new chapter,” he said a few weeks after arriving in Massachusetts.
Yesterday, the nine-time All-Star not only put together a scandalously good and thoroughly inspired performance from the line to become the eighth player with the most three-pointers in NBA history. More important than that: he looked physically sharp. Agile. Tenacious and quick off the mark. He recorded five steals against the Pistons.
The 7 of 12 from three is purely incidental, especially from the fourth quarter on when, drunk on confidence, we saw him knocking them down while falling away in theatrical imbalance, eight metres from the rim, all of them perfectly struck… but it no longer mattered; when you feel the ball like that, the result is necessarily onomatopoeic: swish!
What to expect over the remaining 81 games?
The Paul George we can expect for the rest of the season is one we know very well. A gunner with a career three-point percentage of 38.3% who has surpassed 40% on five occasions. If all goes smoothly, this could be the sixth. Because, as we said before, he looks sharp. And physical condition matters more than nights of brilliance, especially when the regular season starts to weigh and fatigue saps legs and nervous system.
He attempted some risky passes that went astray, but he was then seen committed in transition to make up for his mistakes. He drew fouls on offence, made some help defensive plays and was very present throughout the game with and without the ball. And yes, several of the baskets he made (and missed) were created by generating space against his defender not with an electric first step, since he no longer has one, but with the outsized talent he has not yet lost and which he spends to the millimetre.
Nobody should expect this George to turn out to be that Brown. The best proof is the opener: he was superb and they still lost. Because the leader of this team is and will be Jayson Tatum. And with performances as dire as his (6 of 23 from the field), he will not find in George the partner capable of bailing him out.
The former Pacers, Clippers, Thunder and 76ers man is what he is. A luxury bench player who pulls the cart in very specific spells. Not against Detroit. Not against the reigning Eastern Conference champion if he doesn’t have someone around him to help him or the leader to lead.
And what is also clear is that aquila non capit musca. Preseason is a joke. The regular season is the tune-up. The playoffs, where everything is demanded absolutely.
(Cover photo by Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images)