Paul George on Lance Stephenson trash talking LeBron: He’s barking up the wrong tree

Lance Stephenson may be doing his thing by talking trash to LeBron James, but Paul George doesn’t think it’s the best idea to try getting inside the head of the best player in the world.

In fact, George thinks the trash talking could backfire.

“He’s doing it to the wrong guy. He’s barking up the wrong tree,” George said Monday morning via the Indianapolis Star’s Candace Buckner. “LeBron is the same way, he feeds off that kind of energy.”

Stephenson said Sunday that he felt he was getting inside LeBron’s head because James was engaging in trash talk with him during Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals on Saturday. The Heat won that game by 12 and James had 26 points, 7 assists and 4 steals. That hardly seems to show that James was affected by Stephenson.

Trash talking may inspire confidence in Stephenson and help him play better, but it could hurt the rest of the team because they have to try guarding an angry and motivated James. It probably is a bad idea for the Pacers as a whole if Stephenson talks trash.