The Celtics have had some special defenders over the years, players like Marcus Smart, Jrue Holiday, and Kevin Garnett who can quarterback a defense and effectively set the identity of their unit. So far, Paul George fits that mold.
Through two games, George is tied for third with his former teammate Kawhi Leonard at 3.5 steals per game. That number is amazing, while simultaneously underselling just how good he’s been.
Against the Knicks, George quietly put together a masterpiece of defensive versatility, combined with game-changing on and off ball work.
George spent time guarding every single Knicks starter. He opened the game shadowing OG Anunoby, took the Jalen Brunson matchup on the perimeter, and battled with Karl-Anthony Towns in the post. In each scenario, it was as if he had the perfect set of skills to bother them all.
In this instance, George has both Brunson and Landry Shamet to himself in transition. He quickly makes the call to stick with Brunson, asking someone else to pick up Shamet.
He sits down, slides his feet, and beats Brunson to the spot. Accepting the bump and forcing the turnover. This was one of many moments like this where he’s directly responsible for a change of possession that he doesn’t necessarily get credit for in the box score.
It’s extremely impressive that he not only has the foot speed and lateral quickness to stay in front of Brunson, but the instincts to predict what his plans are as well. He’s a player that wins with deception and shiftiness, and George was step for step with him on most possessions they faced off.
This is a nice example of how dialed in George is. Run this clip and just watch him the whole time.
There’s the versatility of being asked to chase Anunoby around a screen, and then being prepared to switch onto the smaller Alvarado. But in the aftermath of a broken coverage, it’s how he’s constantly scanning, rotating and adjusting. He manages to find a man, and effortlessly plucks the ball away from Alvarado.
Watching him glide around, it almost felt inevitable that the play would end with the ball in his hands. He is always trying to plug up the holes even when the possession has morphed into chaos.
Here we see more of his utility. On a sideline out-of-bounds play, he gets the matchup against the larger Towns.
Even with his focus occupied by the Knicks center, he immediately snaps to action, cutting off Brunson’s drive and forcing an earlier dribble pickup than he planned. It results in a tough miss, but the pair of Anunoby and Towns are there to collect it.
Staying with the play, George pokes the ball free to prevent an easy put back. He somehow still has an understanding of the possession to recognize in a millisecond the pass to the corner was coming, managing to deflect it out of bounds.
He claps his hands after that play seemingly disappointed that he didn’t get a steal. That says a lot about his instincts and playmaking abilities.
This is another moment where it’s best to roll the tape and watch George go. It’s very difficult to miss him though, he is everywhere on this possession.
There’s the smaller initial detail where he’s mindful of the matchups, sending Queta to defend Hart so he can stick with Towns. But then it’s a switch onto Brunson. Drive stopped. A switch onto Hart, same story. Then there’s the unreal reaction time to spot Brunson breaking free to the rim, and very nearly shutting that down too.
George was asking for the challenge, and he probably had an argument on the foul call but this is one of those moments where the process is much more noteworthy than the result. We might have to call him spackle with the way he covers up holes.
This one had me sitting up from my couch.
This is a 36-year-old wing with a lot of mileage chasing Brunson around screens. Then he covers up the driving angles and forces a near turnover on the pass deflected by White.
You can trust him in elite matchups on-ball, and it doesn’t feel like there’s a real weakness in his skill set. He’s comfortable navigating screens, and can handle strong or shifty creators.
He sometimes resembles a cat stalking its prey, waiting until the perfect moment to pounce.
This play unfolds so quickly. Right after the Knicks cross half court, Towns and Brunson are already working a two-man game. White gets caught up on the screen and Brunson has daylight ahead of him. In a blink, George is there and ripping the ball free almost the same moment it arrives. Any later to the spot and Brunson gets time to adjust and spray a pass to the corner.
He showed the full package in this one.
The timing of the first rotation is perfect. I appreciate the small detail of coming to a jump stop to challenge McBride, while being careful not to overcommit. He does basically the same thing on Anunoby’s drive, making sure to clear the restricted area, and leaving him caught in the air without a plan.
This level of help defense allows the Celtics to be more aggressive. They can trap, scramble, and recover knowing that George will be exactly where he’s needed.
When Walsh had Brunson, George got to play free safety. He described that role after the game.
“For me on the back end, it was kind of cool to be a safety in that moment, roam around, see where I can be helpful at, and rebound,” George said.
That’s demonstrated perfectly on this possession.
With Towns driving, Walsh, Tatum, and Queta all swarm him. This leaves George to zone up between Hart and Shamet. He reads Towns initially looking to the corner, but doesn’t fully commit, and manages to lunge back into the other passing lane. Taking it all the way to the rack after the steal is vintage Paul George.
One layer of his defensive impact that isn’t getting enough love is his rebounding. He had seven against New York and five in Detroit.
He’s not alone, but getting involved on the glass here likely kept points off the board with Drummond getting good position. He had several contested rebounds, and makes a legitimate effort to find a man and box them out too. Being able to secure a stop with a rebound matters a lot, and George has really done his part there.
We’ve talked about his versatility, and being able to handle different types of matchups. Here he’s battling for position with Towns.
Towns really wanted this ball, and George wasn’t going to let him have it without working for it. What started as a true post up ended with Towns pushed all the way out to the perimeter. George fronted him, denying a touch until he was at the three point line. More on the rebounding front, George finds Towns and boxes him out, then cleans up the loose rebound.
He didn’t have a game saving defensive play, and it was Tatum that took them home, but a moment like this in crunch time matters.
The Knicks grab the rebound and get out running in transition 4-on-4. George should be matching up with Hart who has the ball here, but he’s able to make the instantaneous decision to go pick up Brunson instead. He meets him beyond the three point line so there’s no pull-up available. He sticks with him downhill and forces Brunson to reconsider a drive over him and Robinson. Brunson makes a seemingly open pass but George is all over it. He doesn’t quite get the steal, but he mucks up a whole possession and Towns settles for a deep three.
All it takes in a clutch game against the Knicks is one opening. If George doesn’t think to pick up Brunson in transition, he either has a shot or someone else gets freed up. Stopping these moments before they happen makes all the difference.
George is giving the Celtics everything they could’ve hoped for in his first few games. He’s been an easy fit in the system, and there’s still so much room for chemistry to grow with him on the team.
For him to still be able to handle this kind of workload is incredible. He was switching 1-5 for a full game against the reigning champions and consistently blowing up their actions. He looks like he was built in a lab for defense.
It’s early, but if he stays healthy, I’ll have no problem pushing the All-Defense agenda.
Kurt Helin
