The Pacers got off to a dismal start in 2010-11, winning just 17 of their first 44 games under head coach Jim O’Brien before Frank Vogel took over as a midseason replacement.
With Vogel in place, the team finished 20-18 over its last 38 games, an improbable run that landed the Pacers in the playoffs.
All this went down during Paul George’s rookie season, and not surprisingly, he was much happier once Vogel took over and he was inserted into the starting lineup for the remainder of the year, which included five postseason games.Firing Obrien and starting in playoffs RT @ballsohardmj: @Paul_George24 Best memory as a rook?
— Paul George (@Paul_George24) July 26, 2014
Somewhat ironically, George’s minutes per game were fairly similar under Vogel, but players believe a certain amount of cachet is attached to being one of the starters, and there may have been other reasons that George was less than thrilled with playing under O’Brien’s unsuccessful reign.
No matter the reason for George’s stance, we’re appreciative of what’s obviously a very real response. More and more players are beginning to speak their minds (at least now, in the middle of the offseason), and it only increases the overall entertainment value of the league, while revealing the competitive personalities of its players at the very same time.
[via 8points9seconds]