Hibbert on George: 'It's amazing' what he can do

ATLANTA – A year ago, the Atlanta Hawks lost their best player. The team stumbled along without him and appeared headed toward a lottery pick. However, through the second half of the 2013-14 season, the Hawks reversed course and turned into an extremely tough out in the first round of the NBA playoffs for the Indiana Pacers.

Now, the Hawks have Al Horford back, rank as the best team in the conference at 35-8 and look as primed as any team in the East to play deep into May – and possibly, June.

On Wednesday, the Hawks picked up their 14th straight win, a 110-91 breeze against the struggling Indiana Pacers. So within this context, the question arises: Can the Pacers make a second-half turnaround like the 2013-14 Hawks and return to prominence come the 2015-16 season?

While the Pacers, who have lost six straight, have yet to show they're capable of surging like the Hawks, who went 25-26 after the All-Star break last year, there is one striking similarity here that makes this a possible goal, and that's the improving health of Paul George.

Just like the '13-14 Hawks who played the majority of the season without former All-Star Horford – he played in 29 games before undergoing surgery to repair a torn pectoral muscle – the Pacers sorely miss their best player. And just like Horford, who's averaging 15.1 points this year and has added more substance to what the second-half Hawks had already built, George will come back to the Pacers and his presence could be as significant as signing a top-tier free agent for the '15-16 season.

So, I posed this question to center Roy Hibbert on whether the Pacers could mimic the '13-14 Hawks, and he shed more light on just how much progress George is making away from the eyes of the public.

"I would love to answer that question looking forward. I want Paul to get back healthy," Hibbert said. "You guys don't see it, but I see a lot of the stuff that he does in practice when there aren't cameras and it's amazing that he's able to do that stuff at this point after what he went through."

The story of George's gruesome injury does not need to be rehashed. When looking over my notes from a story immediately following the injury, I'd jotted down this ominous projection from a source close to George: "Safe to say six months is just to get to where you're moving, it's a year before action."

However, it's January, five months after surgery, and George is not only moving, he's imitating slam dunk champions in practice. No, really. We've all seen the six-second clip of George making a baseline spin move on Shayne Whittington and rising up off one leg to stuff the shot through the rim. But, according to Hibbert, George can do even more.

"You see the Human Highlight Reel, Dominique (Wilkins), (George's) over here…" Hibbert said, then pretended as if he was Wilkins and brought an imaginary basketball from between his legs for a powerful slam.

When I expressed disbelief, Hibbert said "I put that on my mama!" then looked to David West for backup. West, from across the locker room, nodded his head and confirmed that he had also seen George pull off a between-the-legs, reverse dunk.

"You haven't seen some of the stuff he's doing," Hibbert continued. "He shoots with us. He doesn't do any contact stuff, but he does shooting drills and stuff like that.

"I mean, he's looking good," Hibbert said emphatically, "but not necessarily (that) he's heading back (this season)."

Not yet, it seems. The Pacers' company line continues to be that George will miss the entire 2014-15 season. And, really, why rush him back anyway with the roster languishing out of the playoff picture?

This is about the future, and the main piece is in place for the Pacers to copy the path of the '13-14 Hawks. However, while George makes his way back, the Pacers who remain need to start doing their share and turn things around just like the Horford-less Hawks did on their own last year.

So, can the Pacers recover like the Hawks? The truth will come in time.

"The answer I have to give you right now … has to be trying to figure out what we have to do to turn it around because it's not good right now," Hibbert said. "I can answer that question for you media day next year."