Pacers Paul George misses the guidance of Uncle West

Candace Buckner | IndyStar

SAN ANTONIO – You could see it in his eyes. Paul George has expressed frustration about not getting certain calls since day one of the NBA season. But on this night, dripping with sweat and sweltering in anger after an ugly win over the Brooklyn Nets, George had a camera nearby and could no longer hold his rage, letting slip a little four-letter word that would cost him $35,000. The instant he muttered it, George’s gaze shifted toward the nearest exit. His legs soon followed.

In that moment, the eyes revealed everything that George has searched for this season. While taking ownership of the role as leader of the Indiana Pacers, George has longed for an attentive ear, an understanding veteran bold enough to snap him out of it.

In other words, George has longed for a teammate like David West.

“I called him Uncle West,” George said, “just (his) knowledge of the game and the conversations we would have away from the game. For me being 21, 22 years old, that was stuff that stuck with me and has helped me with this unit having younger guys. A lot of stuff that I’m going through now … I was able to vent to David about. About officiating, about play calls, what’s going on out in the court. That was my person I vented to and he was the one who set me straight.”

On Monday, the Pacers face the San Antonio Spurs. It will be the first time that the most tenured players in the locker room (George, Ian Mahinmi and George Hill) play against West, who spent the previous four years in Indiana.

When West signed in 2011, he instantly legitimized the ‘smash-mouth’ Pacers. He was the baaaaaaaad man throwing elbows and setting hard (sometimes illegal) screens. More than just muscle, West worked his midrange magic as a central part of the offense while George blossomed into an elite wing capable of scoring 20 points a night.

However, over this past summer as the Pacers shifted away from smash-mouth to a pace-and-space style of play, West, 35, decided to opt out of the final year of his contract with the Pacers, leaving more than $12 million on the table to sign for the veteran’s minimum with the championship-contending Spurs.

In this season of transition, the Pacers are still getting accustomed to not having their baaaaaaaad man around.

“His presence in this locker room is truly missed,” said Hill. “When we (would) go out on the floor knowing we've got a warrior with us, knowing we’ve got a guy who’s never going to back down from anybody, who’s going to bring that force. We carried that on the court knowing that we had that guy in our corner.

“Just your demeanor and things like that were different,” Hill continued, “when he was in this locker room.”

Both Hill and Mahinmi have ties to the Spurs’ organization, so they easily understand and accept West’s decision to leave Indiana and play in San Antonio.

“I just knew he’s a guy that wants to win. I knew that and when you think about it, you can’t be mad at him,” Hill said. “He didn’t leave for money. He left for the right reason and that was to win a championship and he didn’t think the next couple years that we’d be ready for that.”

Even more, Mahinmi, also knowing his former teammate well, had a feeling West would opt out after the injury-plagued and disappointing 2014-15 season.

“It’s kinda tough but at the same time,” Mahinmi said, “everything that’s gone on and the way we played last year – I’ve been talking to D West for a long time too – I know that his window to win a championship is really small.

“When he turned down the last year to play with us to go with the Spurs, I was kind of sad because D West is my guy. But at the same time, I kind of understood that move," Mahinmi continued. "The guys who played with D West, we’re always going to like him.”

Before this paints a miserable and maudlin picture of the Pacers’ locker room, understand that the early season has surpassed expectations. The Pacers have won 16 of 26 games, rank second in the Eastern Conference standings and have shown flashes of being a scary good team when the potent offense is clicking.

Besides George, Mahinmi and Hill, when it comes to veterans, Indiana has a new old man in 30-year-old Monta Ellis. Several times during the team’s last West Coast trip, teammates credited Ellis’ outspoken nature. In Utah, Ellis commandeered coach Frank Vogel’s chair and spent several minutes sharing an animated pep talk when the Pacers trailed in the first quarter.

However even with all these veterans, there is only one face to this franchise – and it belongs to George. The Pacers are George’s team now. He recognized this fact during the team’s media day session, willingly accepting his role as leader. So in many ways, George has to become the same guy that West was once for him.

“It’s going good. It’s still a learning curve for me. First year at it. I’m going to have my mistakes, I’m going to have to learn from them,” George said about being a leader. “Biggest thing is I’m willing to learn and I’m willing to go through the learning process.”

Still, on those nights when the whistles don’t blow at his command and the stresses of carrying the load become too much, George will have to figure out a way to get through it and find a new venting partner. Because the man who once held the role as undisputed leader of the Pacers is now an opponent in a different locker room.

“David, he was definitely a big brother,” George said. “It’ll be good to catch up with him, talk with him a little bit. Ya know, I miss him. I miss big D.”

Follow Star reporter Candace Buckner on Twitter: @CandaceDBuckner.

INDIANA AT SAN ANTONIO

Tipoff: 8:30 p.m. Monday, AT&T Center, San Antonio.

TV: Fox Sports Indiana.

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

PACERS (16-10)

Projected starters Pos. Player PPG Key stat

PG George Hill 11.7 3.9 rpg

SG Monta Ellis 12.2 4.5 apg

SF Paul George 26.2 7.8 rpg

PF C.J. Miles 15.0 40.6 3FG%

C Ian Mahinmi 8.0 7.0 rpg

6th Rodney Stuckey 10.9 3.4 rpg

SPURS (23-5)



Projected starters Pos. Player PPG Key stat

PG Tony Parker 13.0 5.0 apg

SG Danny Green 7.1 3.9 rpg

SF Kawhi Leonard 21.0 7.5 rpg

PF LaMarcus Aldridge 16.1 8.8 rpg

C Tim Duncan 9.2 8.2 rpg

6th Manu Ginobili 10.5 3.4 apg

STORYLINES

ZERO MILEAGE: One of the many reasons the Pacers scored only 84 points and lost in Memphis on Saturday night was the lack of scoring balance. George accounted for more than 34 percent of the offense while Miles, the Pacers’ second-leading scorer, struggled in a historically bad night. Miles did not score a point while going 0-for-9 from the field, the worst single-game shooting performance of his 11-year career.

SPURS LOVE SAN ANTONIO: Golden State has the best record in the league, including a perfect mark at home, but the Spurs can claim one better. While the Warriors are 12-0 in Oakland, the Spurs are unblemished at 15-0 while playing inside AT&T Center. During the perfect home streak, San Antonio has allowed a league-best 87.5 points per game and the solid “D” has propelled the Spurs to their second-best start in franchise history through 28 games.

PREDICTION: If the Pacers found it challenging to sink the 3 over the Grizzlies (17.9 percent), then cover your eyes and hope for the best when they meet the Spurs. Besides ranking tops in the league in points allowed, the Spurs are second in both opponent field goal (.421) and 3-point (.308) percentages. So, San Antonio remains perfect at win and wins 109-91.

— Candace Buckner