Score, defend, rebound. Paul George willing to do it all for Pacers

Paul George has wanted to excel at every aspect of basketball throughout his career. That goal meant George would not just lead the Indiana Pacers in scoring, but also guard the opposing team’s best perimeter player.

Now, he wants to force a missed shot then locate the ball coming off the rim and jump over taller opponents for the rebound.

George, in his sixth season, values rebounding more than he ever has before. He has 110 rebounds in 13 games — more than post players Jordan Hill, Ian Mahinmi and Lavoy Allen. Beyond his prolific scoring, George is averaging 8.5 rebounds per game, a career high.

“I take a lot of pride in rebounding,” George said after the Pacers’ 123-86 victory Saturday against the Milwaukee Bucks. “I always told myself since I was out last year that I (used to take) the whole game for granted. When I came back, I told myself I want to do everything that I possibly can and help the team as much as possible.”

For all the points that George has scored this season — he leads the Pacers with 24.8 per game — his rebounds have been just as instrumental in the Pacers winning eight of their past 10 games heading into Tuesday's game at Washington. He has led the team in rebounding nine times.

With Roy Hibbert and David West leaving Indiana in the summer, George knew the Pacers still needed to be competitive in grabbing rebounds to win games using a smaller lineup. That's why he's hovering around the rim on defense, always looking to jump over players for the rebound, even if it happens to be teammates Hill and Mahinmi.

On many defensive possessions, Mahinmi will focus on boxing out when the opponent shoots. C.J. Miles, a 6-6 shooting guard now defending power forwards in the spread lineup, will try to do the same. If Mahinmi and Miles are successful, they are confident George, at 6-9, is tall enough and athletic enough to grab the rebound.

“I knew I was going to have to come down there and help rebound,” said George, who has averaged 6.1 rebounds per game in his career. “C.J. is doing a great job (defending), but I knew it was an extra emphasis for me to get down there and help those guys out.”

Although Mahinmi, who averages 6.3 rebounds per game, said George has stolen some of his rebounds, he noted the approach of allowing George to secure the rebound has been effective for the Pacers.

“That’s something we talked about before the season started,” Mahinmi said. “It’s never a one-on-one thing. We really just want to secure the ball, whoever it is.”

Coach Frank Vogel already considered George an above-average rebounder. But what has impressed Vogel is how George, his superstar player, is so committed to winning that he will do more than what is usually asked of an All-Star.

“He knows that rebounding wins,” Vogel said after Saturday’s game. “There’s a lot of stars out there that don’t want to do the dirty work. What makes Paul George special is his desire, and he loves playing a complete game. He loves guarding and defending, which makes him extremely unique, and he’s really good at it. He loves rebounding and just being in the right spots on the weak side.”

Chase Budinger is not surprised that George has been so effective in collecting rebounds. Budinger noted that Vogel wants the Pacers to swiftly transition from defense to offense once they have the ball on a missed shot and identified George as one of the best players on the team to initiate their fast-break offense.

If Mahinmi, Hill or Allen records a rebound, one of the guards has to come back to receive the ball to start the offensive possession. But once George has the rebound, Budinger understands it is his job to sprint down the court for easy baskets. That occurred in the first quarter of Saturday’s win. After grabbing the rebound, George spun, dribbled past two defenders and found Budinger cutting to the basket for a layup in just six seconds.

“With him, it’s even more vital, because he’s such a threat in the open court and also getting late ball screens from bigs coming down the court,” Budinger said of George. “That’s a big emphasis in our offense right now, to attack on missed shots when we get rebounds.”

George is happy to do whatever the Pacers need — scoring, defending, or, as of late, rebounding.

“I don’t want to be considered a shooter or a defender,” he said. “At the end of the day, I’m a ballplayer. That’s what I want to go down as. Again, every opportunity I can to make something special happen, I’m going to go for it.”

Call Star reporter Nate Taylor at (317) 444-6484. Follow him on Twitter: @ByNateTaylor.

INDIANA AT WASHINGTON

Tipoff: 7 p.m.

TV: FSI.

Radio: WFNI-AM (1070), W228CX-FM (93.5).

PACERS (8-5)

Projected starters Pos. Player PPG Key stat

PG George Hill 14.0 45.3 3FG%

SG Monta Ellis 12.7 5.3 apg

SF Paul George 24.8 8.5 rpg

PF Lavoy Allen 4.4 5.7 rpg

C Ian Mahinmi 6.7 6.3 rpg

6th Rodney Stuckey 9.8 2.5 apg

WIZARDS (6-4)

Projected starters Pos. Player PPG Key stat

PG John Wall 16.6 8.4 apg

SG Bradley Beal 20.4 47.1 3FG%

SF Otto Porter 13.9 1.8 spg

PF Kris Humphries 8.2 4.9 rpg

C Marcin Gortat 11.2 7.8 rpg

6th Nene 8.2 5.3 rpg

STORYLINES

INJURY UPDATE: C.J. Miles (14.3 ppg, 40.0 3FG%) rolled his ankle during practice practice Sunday, didn’t participate in the live portion Monday according to coach Frank Vogel and is questionable for the game. Hill is probable after missing the previous three games with an upper respitory infection.

(SECOND) HALF AS GOOD: The Pacers opened the season 0-3 while getting out-scored in the second half of all three games by an average of 13.7 points. They’ve since won eight of their past 10 and have, not coincidentally, out-scored opponents eight times and for an overall average of plus-6.7. “There were some games we could have won, (but) we messed up in the second half,” center Jordan Hill said. “Now we’re playing better in those situations.”

PREDICTION: Hill’s return will be key against one of the most explosive backcourts in the NBA. But after missing time, will he be able to keep up with John Wall? Washington has implemented a more uptempo style, don’t expect the Pacers to be able to keep up. Washington 111, Indiana 107.

— Nat Newell