Paul George has never been known as a whiner but, apparently, his frustrations may have gotten the better of him.
George publicly criticized the officiating of their game against the Toronto Raptors and such resulted in a hefty fine of $10,000.
While the fine is not surprising, it is George's sudden outburst on officiating that comes as a surprise. Looking through the years of play that the Pacers forward has had, he has been known to be the quiet type of player who just focuses coming out each night and playing ball.
Could this be part of the frustrations piling up on his end?
George didn't exactly have a great game against the Raptors, although it was hard to set a high level of expectations considering what he went through.
Recall that it was just last year when George suffered a broken leg during an intra-scrimmage for USA Basketball which sidelined him for almost the entire 2014–15 NBA season.
Although he miraculously was able to return before the previous regular season, it was more of allowing him to get a feel of the game.
That plus a full offseason to prepare may have not been enough for the Pacers star, although there are also other factors to consider.
One is that he has been asked to get accustomed to playing power forward when in fact he is a comfortable playing small forward. The issue was something in the air during the offseason but in the end, George says that he is getting used to playing the new position.
The shift in position is all part of the Pacers' intent to play an up-tempo style of basketball with George more likely to encounter defensive mismatches with bigger power forwards from opposing teams.
Then again, it could be a simple off night for George at that time and with the season still young, he is expected to get back into the groove.
