Put Some Respect On Playoff P's Name!!
Christian Petersen. Getty Images.
Advertisement
What a bizarre series this has been for Paul George. A true roller coaster of emotions for the Clippers and their fans. He's been both awesome and had numerous moments where he completely vomits on himself. It's remarkable really. Few players in the league get dragged as much as Paul George does during the playoffs, and part of that is because he gave himself that stupid ass Playoff P nickname. Whenever he fucks up Twitter starts foaming at the mouth to roast him without hesitation. Well, how about a game like tonight? Facing elimination, no Kawhi, on the road and what does he do. He puts up one of if not the best performance of his playoff career
41/13/6/3 on 15-20 from the field. A monster performance no matter how you slice it. I suppose this is the player he was talking about when he referred to himself as Playoff P. Not only that, but he played 41 more minutes. This is impressive when you realize how much he's already played this postseason
This is not the first time this series that George has had big numbers, but it was the first game he was truly efficient. That made all the difference in the world. Heading into this Game 5 George was shooting just 35/27% from the floor and yet he finished 75/50/100%. Not only that, but I'm pretty sure he sent Chris Paul into another galaxy.
The Clippers are just so damn resilient man. Reggie Jackson having the postseason of his life hitting huge shot after huge shot, that guy is about to make so much money this summer. As a team, they came out and punched first then never looked back. Even when the Suns started to make a run early in the third, Paul George took over and promptly put an end to that. They absorbed run after run from the Suns and never panicked. That's the very definition of resiliency.
Advertisement
But at the end of the day, it all comes down to Paul George. This version of George is someone who can carry this Clippers team to the NBA Finals. Maybe he just struggles being a #2 and is really a #1? WHo knows. I could be a prisoner of the moment right now but at the same time I just watched a dude stare elimination in the face and show up big time.
As for the Suns, it's not the end of the world……but you're getting nervous. The closeout win is always the hardest. Now they've given the Clippers life which is playing with fire. Heading home for Game 6 the Clippers now have all the momentum in a series that has been close pretty much the whole way. That's huge. Win that and you have a Game 7 where anything can happen. That's why it was so important for the Suns to take care of business tonight, but Paul George & Co had other ideas.
What an unreal performance. What a great series. The NBA playoffs are simply the best.