Paul George appeared to post a message to his haters on Instagram Thursday.
George posted an image of text that said:
“Idgaf what anybody think about me. F— is u thinkin (sic) about me for anyway.”
The text has been edited by Larry Brown Sports for profanity. “Idgaf” is an acronym that stands for “I don’t give a f—.”
George’s Los Angeles Clippers lost 127-114 to the Dallas Mavericks in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series on Wednesday night to even the series at 1-1. George shot just 4/17 (23.5 percent) from the field in the game and was a -13. He also was mocked for shooting an airball in the third quarter. Game 1 was a different story, as George scored 27 points in an 8-point win.
George has been active on Instagram lately. He also got into it with Damian Lillard after a Clippers-Blazers game two weeks ago.
The Los Angeles Clippers won their first playoff game of 2020 on Monday, but it didn’t come completely cleanly.
The Clippers got out to an early 10-0 lead but ended up trailing by the end of the first quarter against the Dallas Mavericks in their first-round playoff game. The Clippers wound up securing a 118-110 to go up 1-0 in the series.
Paul George had 27 points in the contest and acknowledged after the game that the team was out of sync at times.
“Yeah, we had moments. We had moments and I think it showed. But that’s the thing — we know where we want to get to. We know this is a process. We didn’t expect to come out here and go 16-0 — that’s the goal — but we’re smarter than that, we understand what’s at stake,” George told Lisa Salters.
That’s the thing — it doesn’t matter if they have some down moments so long as they win each series. That’s what Kawhi Leonard learned last year with the Toronto Raptors when the eventual champions fell behind in the playoffs against both the Sixers and Bucks before coming back to win their series.
As for the Clippers, this was their first time in Orlando playing with a full group after guys like Patrick Beverley and Lou Williams missed time. The Clippers are among the favorites to win the championship.
Damian Lillard and Paul George traded some shots on social media over the weekend, as did some of their family members, but they appear to have resolved things.
Reporter Chris B. Haynes said during TNT’s broadcast of the Mavericks-Trail Blazers game on Tuesday that George and Lillard have since talked to clear the air.
“Sources informed me that George recently reached out to Lillard to clear the air, explaining that he had no beef, and clarifying that it was just competitive banter on his part,” Haynes said. “Sources say Lillard apologizes for remarks made by one of his family members and stated why he said what he said after the loss to the Clippers. Both stars relayed there were no hard feelings and agreed to turn the page.”
Clippers guard Patrick Beverley taunted Lillard for missing some free throws in the final minute of Portland’s loss to the Clippers. Beverley, George and Lillard all traded shots on Instagram afterwards. But things took an ugly turn when Lillard’s sister and George’s girlfriend got involved.
According to Haynes, the two star players have since worked things out. Lillard has kept his head straight and even came out with a 50-point game in his next contest. Now, the Clippers apparently view Portland as a dangerous team.
Not only did Paul George and Damian Lillard trade some shots on Instagram Saturday, but now others from their respective sides are getting involved as well.
On Saturday, George’s Clippers beat Lillard’s Trail Blazers 122-117 in part due to Lillard missing key free throws at the end of the game. Patrick Beverley, who was not playing in the game, trolled Lillard over the missed free throws. Lillard responded after the game, saying the Clippers enjoyed his misses because they’re used to him getting the best of them. Then things got even more testy when all three players traded Instagram comments.
The story doesn’t end there.
Lillard’s sister La’nae gave some commentary on her Instagram story Saturday, calling Beverley some bad words. Then, she later took shots at George’s girlfriend, Daniela Rajic.
“Everyone know how my mouth can get … you can’t talk. You got a h-e stripper pregnant, then you wiped the (expletive). Then, look at her lips, look at her face … I’m getting personal with it. I don’t care,” La’nae said.
Rajic responded on her Instagram story, calling La’nae a “hating a– w–re.” She also called La’nae a “cow”.
Yeah, so things really just hit a whole new level of intense.
The family members may not be a part of the NBA Bubble in Orlando, but they are definitely getting involved in things. The only thing that would help settle matters would be if the teams faced each other again.
Paul George and Damian Lillard traded shots on Instagram after Saturday’s game between their teams, and Patrick Beverley even got involved.
The Los Angeles Clippers beat the Portland Trail Blazers 122-117 in a critical game for playoff seeding. Lillard missed two free throws and a three-pointer at the end of the game, and he was mocked by Patrick Beverley, who was on the Clippers’ bench and did not play.
Lillard said after the game that the Clippers players trolled him because they know he’s eliminated them in the past (when George was with the Thunder last year and in 2014 when Beverley was with Houston). The Portland guard said he considered the trolling a sign of respect regarding the high expectations they have for him.
Well, Bleacher Report shared Lillard’s quote on Instagram after the game, which led to an exchange in the comments section of the story.
“And you getting sent home this year respect,” George said to Lillard in a comment.
Beverley joked “Cancun on 3,” which is a way of mocking a team that doesn’t make the playoffs and instead goes to Mexico to hang out after their season ends.
Lillard responded to George on Instagram, jabbing him for switching teams and “running from the grind.”
Lillard has famously stuck with Portland rather than join a superteam like George did by leaving Indiana and later Oklahoma City, so he won’t hear the criticism from them.
The beef has livened things up. Maybe Lillard can end up giving the Clippers his patented move one day.
Paul George was upset over a lack of a foul call at the end of his Los Angeles Clippers’ 103-101 loss to the Lakers on Thursday night.
George scored 30 points and was 6 of 11 on threes in the game, but he couldn’t come through at the very end.
The Clippers star connected from deep to tie the game at 101 with just under 30 seconds left. LeBron James followed with a bucket to put the Lakers up by two — a basket that would go down as the game-winner.
But the Clippers had the final shot, and after Kawhi Leonard was stifled by James, he passed to George. George then attempted a leaning 3-pointer that hit off the iron and missed.
Knowing the game was over, a desperate George tried to plead for a foul call.
No call went George’s way — rightfully so — which sealed the win for the Lakers. It was the second two-point game of the night in the NBA’s return.
Anthony Davis had 34 points to lead the game, while Kyle Kuzma made four 3-pointers to help his squad get the big win.
The NBA playoffs have the uncanny ability to render a player’s body of work throughout the season meaningless, as players are often solely evaluated on their performances from when the stakes are at their highest. Certain players have the ability to bounce back from underwhelming regular seasons and silence their doubters in the postseason.
These are the players primed with the ability to overcome slow starts to their seasons and potentially alter this year’s championship race.
(more…)
Paul George’s numbers have been down a bit this year with the Los Angeles Clippers. Part of that is likely down to him sharing the floor with the likes of Kawhi Leonard, but there may have been another reason as well.
George said he played through “insecurities” early in the season stemming from offseason shoulder surgery. George added that he is now back to his best, but didn’t feel completely right physically throughout a portion of the season.
George didn’t debut with the Clippers until Nov. 14. While he had a handful of big games in 2019, he also had a lot of games where he didn’t hit the 20-point mark. In fact, since the start of February, he’s averaging a modest 17.5 points per game, though he’s played only 26.9 minutes per night during that span.
George admitted he was shying away from contact early in the season. If he’s feeling as good as he says now, that will be a big boost to the Clippers’ title chances.
Paul George and Russell Westbrook teamed up on the Oklahoma City Thunder for two seasons before George sought a trade to the LA Clippers. George’s trade also led the team to deal Westbrook and break up the Thunder as we knew them.
During his time in OKC, George became extremely close with Westbrook.
“I was only (in OKC) two years. But you know, during those two years I loved Russ as a brother,” George said during an appearance on Kevin Hart’s ‘Cold as Balls’ program. “I have so much love for Russ. I mean, I was the first phone call after I had word of what was going on and the possibility of leaving, and I had that call with him. You know, he supported me 100 percent. We talked it out and we made the moves necessary to go elsewhere.”
Westbrook ended up traded to Houston while George teamed up with Kawhi Leonard on the Clippers.
Westbrook showed all kinds of support to George. He threw him a party to get him to agree to re-sign with the team. Westbrook also backed George heavily over an All-Star snub in PG’s first season with OKC, which made a big impression on George. After that kind of support, you can understand why George still feels the brotherly love from Westbrook even though they’re on different teams now.
Paul George opened up this week about why he requested a trade from the Indiana Pacers three years ago, and the star swingman said a lot of it had to do with a fellow All-Star wanting to play for the Pacers and the team not making an attempt to acquire him. Now, we know who that unnamed player was.
George said he was angry with the Pacers over their unwillingness to explore a trade for “the best power forward” in the NBA. While George didn’t name the player, J. Michael of the Indy Star reports that George was referring to Anthony Davis. However, the situation may have been more complicated than George made it sound.
Davis had two years remaining on his contract at the time, and he reportedly would not commit to Indiana beyond that. Michael went on to note that the Pacers probably did not have enough to offer to entice the New Orleans Pelicans to trade Davis to them.
George said last year that he was going to eventually tell the full story of why he left the Pacers, and it sounds like their inability to acquire Davis was the biggest factor. We’ll never know how much effort Indiana made to land Davis, but they would not be the first franchise that was unwilling to mortgage their entire future for one player.
Of course, it should be noted that George butted heads with the Pacers over their desire to play him at the power forward position. That likely added to his frustration when they were unable or unwilling to trade for Davis.
