There's a lot to like about Paul George in his first two preseason games with the Boston Celtics. We're beating a dead horse at this point if we bring up how he compares to Jaylen Brown on an individual level. George isn't the better player, but it's pretty clear the Celtics were onto something when they brought him in.
That is, on the defensive end. On the offensive end, George has been kind of a disaster in a small sample size. Hitting only 25% of his shots is not a good look, especially for someone replacing Jaylen Brown and especially for someone who sent Boston home half a year ago because of his shooting.
Last night, George shot two-for-10 from the field, which included making one three on seven attempts from distance. He also had a plus/minus of minus-six and a net rating of minus-9.2. His haters had a field day with that stat line, but nights like last night reveal something else: George can have his bad nights, and it won't even matter when the team's depth makes up for it.
Boston still won pretty handily despite George's shooting woes
The Celtics will count on George pretty heavily this season. Typically, when a player like that struggles to get his shot going, that's a problem for the team, but in the Celtics' case, that wasn't a problem. They still won by 21.
Charlotte won the three-point battle and the rebounding battle, and it did not matter. All of that was because of Boston's depth. It's not that everyone else played so well in his place, but that the team in general straight up limited the Hornets' chances. They devastated Charlotte with their points-in-the-paint advantage and all the turnovers they forced.
It all points to the fact that the Celtics are good enough that when George has his stinkers - fans really shouldn't worry about George, as sharpshooting is something he definitely brings to the table - the team is well-equipped to deal with it, not because they are loaded with stars, but because their team construct is good enough to withstand when he has his off nights.
Many will point to the fact that preseason counts for absolutely nothing. It doesn't, but the Celtics' process has proven to be so impeccable in all three of their games that it's become easier with each passing game to see the vision with this team.
The fact that they are securing 20-point blowouts on George's off-nights makes it all the more exciting to see how the games will go when his shot is falling.
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