Raptors Republic alum William Lou got his 50 Cent on ahead of Raptors-Pacers, but couldn’t quite make it to 21 questions. Instead, he asked 19 pressing questions about the series over on Medium.
George is by far the Pacers’ best player. He’s in discussions to make his third All-NBA team, he ranks in the top-10 in scoring, and he’s stood toe-to-toe against prime LeBron James in past playoff series. He’s going to be a problem.
But here’s an encouraging sign: the Raptors did a decent job of stopping him in the regular season. George averaged 16 points per game while shooting 31 percent from the floor in four meetings against the Raptors. If that trend continues, the Raptors could be looking at a sweep.
Here’s his shot chart from their four meetings this season:
George’s shot chart vs. TOR
George’s shot distribution speaks to his propensity to launch jumpers. He’s absolutely terrifying when he uses his athleticism to attack the basket, but George isn’t really a slasher. He averages 5.4 drives per game, which is less than even a bench player like Cory Joseph. He also commits turnovers on 11 percent of his drives, which is substantially higher than someone like Joseph (4.3) or DeRozan (4.0).
The key with George is to keep him from going middle. If you force him baseline, he usually settles into the midrange jumper, or tries to crossover along the baseline to create a path to the hoop. But he won’t seek out contact like DeRozan, and he much prefers to stick to the perimeter.
I have a hunch that the Raptors will stick with Norman Powell in the starting lineup, so that puts the onus on DeRozan to check George. DeRozan fared well in that match-up, holding George to 7–24 shooting in their last meeting. DeRozan should be able to hang in isolation, but he can be lazy chasing shooters around for spot-ups, and that’s where George is really deadly.
