Celtics’ Paul George sends blunt message after wasted 38-point effort vs. Pistons
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The Boston Celtics may not have started the season off the way they would have wanted to after crumbling in the fourth en route to suffering a 121-113 loss to the Detroit Pistons. However, they have to be very encouraged by what they saw from offseason trade acquisition Paul George.
George, whom the Celtics received in the Jaylen Brown trade, put on a show in his official debut for the team. In just 31 minutes of play, the 36-year-old star popped off for 38 points on 12-21 shooting from the field (7-12 from beyond the arc) — being Boston’s biggest star of the night amid shooting struggles from Jayson Tatum.
Nonetheless, George does not care at all if he had a good game in a loss.
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“I’m not a moral victory guy. It means nothing,” George said after the game, per ESPN.
George did put up the most points for any player making their Celtics debut, and considering how many talented players have donned the franchise’s iconic green and white, this is no mean feat.
The Celtics have to be feeling a bit vindicated as well for their decision to trade Brown, the man who averaged 29/7/5 last season as the first option amid Tatum’s injury, for George.
Fans thought that it was bonkers for the Celtics to trade a superstar talent like Brown, who’s still in his prime, for someone like George, who is making the same money but has looked over the hill. George played in just 78 games combined over the past two seasons, so there are legitimate availability concerns surrounding him as well.
But George, who is a huge competitor, knows that huge individual performances don’t mean much if it ends in defeat. He is currently in his 17th NBA season, and he has scored all the points and made all the threes he can. Playing winning basketball, however, is what matters to him the most, making his incredible Celtics debut all the more bittersweet.
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