The Pacers arrived in Los Angeles Saturday evening, one of five straight nights they’ll spend there as the team plays the Lakers on Sunday, and then the Clippers not until Wednesday.
Paul George has been looking forward to Sunday’s game for several reasons. He’s back home in Hollywood with friends and family (and better weather). He enjoys playing on the big stage, and the Staples Center is certainly one of them. He’ll face a former teammate both on Sunday and Wednesday (against the Clippers), Roy Hibbert and Lance Stephenson.
Paul George looks forward to matching up against Kobe Bryant on Sunday.
And, it’s against the Lakers — meaning he gets to go up against one of the greats in The Association.
George, who is from Palmdale, which is an hour north of L.A., grew up a Clippers fan because he roots for underdogs but he idolized Bryant.
“One day I’m going to be like him,” George said years ago.
Last year, George’s compound fracture in his right leg kept him out all but the final six games of the season, so he wasn’t even close when the team was last there on Jan. 4, a one-point Lakers win.
Father time has caught up to Bryant, who’s averaging 15.7 points per game but shooting a dreadful 31.5 percent through 12 games. He’s even worse beyond the arc, 19.5 percent. The reality is that retirement is near.
(The Pacers are wearing their Hickory uniforms for the second time this season. Read the story behind the concept, or listen to a podcast with the man behind the idea.)
George, 25, understands that there won’t be many of these matchups left where he’ll face the five-time NBA Champion.
Because of injuries, the last time George and Bryant both played when these two teams squared off was back on Mar. 16, 2013 … when, despite a severely sprained left ankle, Bryant was determined to play the entire first quarter. But that was it. He didn’t score for the 15th time of his career.
Therefore, the last true meeting between a healthy up-and-coming Paul George and a fading Kobe Bryant was on Nov. 27, 2012, a 79-77 Pacers win at the Staples Center despite Kobe pouring in 40 points. (1,097 days ago, by the way.)
It’s also the first time Hibbert will face the team the drafted him 2008, 17th overall, and then traded him to the Lakers this summer after they had moved on from him and wanted to change the construction of the team.
“It’ll be fun just to reunite with the big bro,” George said of Hibbert. “I look forward to it. We’ll probably catch a dinner and just catch up, wrap up a little bit. I look forward to it, it should be fun. It’s more important matching up with Kobe than seeing Roy.”
Because it could perhaps be your last head-to-head meeting?
“Maybe,” he said with a big smile. “It’ll be a special one.”
PG will be out there Sunday night (9:30 pm ET), almost 16 months after having surgery to repair his compound fracture. After Bryant played 34 minutes in a loss at Portland Saturday night, it’s unclear whether he will play on back-to-back nights.
Hibbert’s Feelings
Sunday’s game will be different and it will assuredly be significant for Hibbert, who the Pacers traded for in the 2008 NBA Draft.
Roy Hibbert introduced to the LA media on July 22nd. He’s in his eighth season.
Rewind to last spring when in April, at a season-ending press conference, team president Larry Bird said the team was moving on from their rim-protecting two-time All-Star in the middle, and he’d have to earn his minutes. Translation: Your time here is up.
[Hibbert’s last swipe not a good look]
Hibbert returned to Indy one last time in mid-September before camp to gather up everything at his home in Carmel, say some goodbyes, and then his house went on the market.
The Big Dog will surely be wearing the Lakers special Sunday white uniforms when he takes the floor against his former team. And it won’t be easy for him.
As I’ve always said, Hibbert was maybe the most caring guy in the Pacers locker room, almost to a fault. He wanted to make sure others were taken care of, he wanted to hear about what everyone was up to and he wouldn’t mind a few practical jokes. He was in what appeared to be a mental funk his last two years in Indy.
Hibbert and George plan to connect in L.A.
Hibbert talked with L.A. reporters about going against the Pacers. (via Mike Bresnahan of the LA Times)
“I’m not going to lie — I’m going to feel something but I don’t know what that something is going to be,” Hibbert said Saturday. “I didn’t mark this down on a calendar but I knew this day was going to come so I figured the questions were going to come. All in all, I wish those guys the best, just not against us.”
Feb. 8 in Indy will be the real challenge when the Lakers play their only game this season at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. There will be boos, because unfortunately there always is even though he deserves better. Remember, he helped create what is now the atmosphere at Pacers games with Area 55.
[Jordan Hill on what Hibbert is in store for playing with Kobe]
The Lakers and Pacers are drastically different teams. The Pacers are surging, winners in 10 of their last 12 and up to second in the conference. Meantime, the Lakers have several potential stars but are stranded by Kobe Bryant’s big contract, and are at the bottom of the Western Conference standings (2-13).
“I try not to think about it,” Hibbert said of the Pacers’ early success. “We’re 2-12, 2-13, I don’t even know what we are right now. I have bigger things to worry about than how I’m going to feel. I’m a professional and I’m just going to go out there trying to help us win.”