Paul George Says L.A. 'Is Where I Wanted To Go'

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Paul George told The Undefeated he "would have been in a Lakers uniform" if the Pacers didn't trade him in July 2017.

Paul George revealed to ESPN's The Undefeated that he "would have been in a Lakers uniform" if he had never been traded from the Indiana Pacers. But after the Pacers dealt the five-time All-Star to the Oklahoma City Thunder instead last year, he fell in love with his new team and playing with Russell Westbrookbefore eventually agreeing to a four-year, $137 million contract extension this past offseason.

"It was 50-50 on deciding whether I wanted to come back home or if it was smarter to be in the situation I am in now," George told The Undefeated. "But it wasn't overstated. I wanted to play in L.A. That is where I wanted to go. Had that trade never went down, had I played one more year in Indy, I would have been in a Lakers uniform."

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Pistons vs Nets Full Game Highlights | 10.17.2018

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Check out the top 10 plays of the night around the NBA, featuring Allonzo Trier, Jarrett Allen, Frank Mason, Mo Bamba, Victor Oladipo, Luka Doncic, Malik Monk, and more!

The Top 10 of the night in the NBA, tailored down to the very best plays. Tell us your favorites in the comments!

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Also, checking in on the debuts of Trae Young, Luka Doncic, Mo Bamba and Deandre Ayton

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NBA opening night takeaways: Kawhi aces Raptors debut; Giannis, Kemba have MVP battle; Melo, Rockets a mess

After the Celtics and Warriors tipped off the 2018-19 NBA season with victories on Tuesday, the more, shall we say, populated opening night was on Wednesday with 13 games on the slate. And very few of them disappointed. Here's a look at some of the major takeaways from Wednesday's action.

Anthony Davis, Pelicans dominate

When DeMarcus Cousins went out for the season last year, the Pelicans took off because of two reasons: A crazy-fast pace, and a defense that vaulted into top-five territory. That's the blueprint coming into this year with Cousins departed for Golden State, and on Wednesday the Pelicans were virtually flawless in their execution en route to a 131-112 trashing of the Rockets -- in Houston no less. Anthony Davis was a monster, finishing with 32 points, 16 rebounds and eight assists, but it was the play of his fellow front-courters Nikola Mirotic and newcomer Julius Randle that put Houston to sleep. 

Mirotic went nuts with 30 points and 10 boards on 6-for-8 from three, and Randle chipped in with 25 points and eight boards. When I was in New Orleans toward the end of training camp, Alvin Gentry told me he loves the options playing those three together would present, with Mirotic spacing the floor and Randle operating as a playmaker at the top, both allowing Davis to do his thing on the catch and in space. So far, so good. 

As for the pace, the new man charged with jump-starting the Pels' tempo is Elfrid Payton, who, ho-hum, notched a triple-double with 10 points, 10 dimes and 10 boards. Gentry told me one of the big things they liked about Payton before they signed him was his ability to get in the lane. If he pushes the pace like this, and draw defenders, Davis and others are only going to benefit.

NBA
@NBA

Elfrid Payton sets up Anthony Davis on the oop!

24 PTS, 12 REB, 8 REB for AD on @ESPNNBA #DoItBig #KiaTipOff18

It was just a perfect start for a New Orleans team that plenty of people have included on their list of Western teams that could struggle to make the playoffs. It appears Davis and company have other ideas. 

So, about that Rockets defense ...

The whole reason Houston was able to push Golden State to seven game in the conference finals last year was its long, athletic, all-switching defense, which we knew would be weakened by the departures of Trevor Ariza and Luc Mbah a Moute. But 131 points on opening night? At home? Watch this play in the paint, on which the Rockets are depending on -- wait for it -- either James Harden, Eric Gordon or Carmelo Anthony to make the right rotations/efforts to make the stop:

Drew Shiller
@DrewShiller

James Harden’s defense is in midseason form

This is the new defensive reality for Houston, which, as currently constructed, will be deploying a lot of lineups with those three in there. If you think James Ennis replaces Ariza, you're very likely wrong. My first season-opener overreaction was that the Sixers' half-court offense is in trouble, and my second is that Houston's defense is in trouble. They could still be OK, but not top 10. They need to be top-10 level to have any shot against Golden State down the line. 

Melo still bringing his mid-range madness ...

When Melo took, and made, a pull-up, long-range two-pointer during the preseason, he turned to the Rockets' bench and straight-up apologized. It seemed to be a sign that Melo understood Houston's strategy to avoid these shots at all costs, and was actively trying to change his offensive approach -- which, of course, has relied upon these very shots from the second he entered the league. Then came Wednesday night, when Melo, who has to be one of the most stubborn players in history, went right back to his old ways of launching pretty much the worst shots in basketball time after time. 

First he passes on the three (the shot everyone in Houston is trained to take) to take his favorite step-in long two-pointer:

Then Melo did his dribble-the-air-out-of-the-ball thing before trying, embarrassingly, to pull up on Anthony Davis. Big mistake:

Melo just refuses to change, plain and simple. He thinks these are good shots because, frankly, any shot he's taking he thinks is a good shot. But they're not good shots. They're bad shots. Particularly this last one. Melo has been saying all the right things, talking about how they have a chance to do something special in Houston and he is happy to be a part of it and blah blah blah. Chris Paul, Melo's Banana Boat buddy, said people knocking Melo's game were ridiculous, and that nobody realizes was an amazing shooter Melo is. Interestingly, this amazing shooter barely shot 40 percent from the field last year. 

Translation: He's not amazing. He's stubborn. And he's not really that good anymore, even as just a shooter. And forget about his defense. For the game Melo finished with nine points on 3 of 10 shooting, inclusive 1 of 5 from three. He was also a minus-20 in his 27 minutes. You can do your own math. 

Giannis' Freak Show starting early

With 25 points, 18 rebounds and eight assists, Antetokounmpo was incredible Wednesday night as the Bucks held off the Hornets 113-112 in what was easily the game of the night. Anyone who watched Giannis suffer through Jason Kidd's "system", which forced Giannis to work unnecessarily hard to make his impact, could see immediately on Wednesday what Mike Budenholzer's offensive plan is going to do to unlock The Freak. More space. More pace. Shooting all around. You open up the court like that on a consistent basis, and there is no stopping Giannis going to the rim.

First in transition:
Milwaukee Bucks
@Bucks

Giannis hits him with the gyrostep!! #FearTheDeer

Then in the half-court:

Yahoo Sports NBA
@YahooSportsNBA

Giannis is unstoppable 🤷‍♂️

(via @Bucks)

Good luck, everyone. 

KEM-V-P

Kemba Walker nearly brought the Hornets back from 10-point fourth-quarter deficit vs. Milwaukee that was much bigger than that for much of the game. Breaking Dell Curry's franchise record for most opening-night points, Walker finished with 41 points on 7 of 13 from three. He was devastating coming off the pick and roll for triples, as he did here to close the third quarter:

Charlotte Hornets
@hornets

CAPTAIN CLUTCH @KEMBAWALKER WITH THE CROSSOVER AND TRIPLE 🔥🔥 #Hornets30 @HornetsOnFSSE

The Hornets are an interesting team. Last year they only won 36 games, but per Cleaning the Glass's metrics, they had the statistical profile of a 42-win team. The problem was the fourth quarter, particularly in the final five minutes, when Charlotte dropped 12 games by five points or less. When I talked to new Charlotte coach James Borrego this summer, he said improving their fourth-quarter production was going to be a main goal this year, and they would do this by putting four 3-point shooters on the floor much of the time, thus spacing the floor and clearing out the lane for Walker. He also said they couldn't;t rely quite so heavily on Walker, as it allows defenses to settle in on him too much. 

On Wednesday, for all Walker's heroics, the Hornets got a lot of great contributions, particularly when they went super small for much of the fourth quarter -- so small, in fact, that Walker actually wound up guarding Giannis one-on-one (he stopped him!). Malik Monk was terrific with 18 points on 4 of 8 from three -- and wouldn't that be something if Monk, who was pretty disappointing as a rookie, had a breakout second year. Borrego thinks he has the talent to do it, and Game 1 looked pretty encouraging. Keep an eye on Charlotte, and give Walker the star-player props he deserves. He doesn't get talked about in that group nearly enough. 

Kawhi, Raptors off and running

in his Toronto debut, Leonard, who missed all but nine games last season, hardly looked like he'd missed a beat in putting up 24 points and 13 rebounds as the Raptors defeated the Cavs. Yes, he looked somewhat rusty in small ways, but he found an offensive rhythm after his first rest of the game and the old Leonard started to appear. 

Leonard pushed in transition and went right into attack mode. He stuck pull-up jumpers. He drew defenders and found teammates. He got on the offensive glass for tip-ins. All night he was getting to his spots. He was physical and smooth with the ball in his hands. And along with OG Anunoby, he showed why the Raptors' perimeter defense might be one of the stoutest in the league. 

Have a look at the highlights:

NBA
@NBA

Kawhi Leonard records 24 PTS, 13 REB to help the @Raptors win in his debut! #WeTheNorth #KiaTipOff18

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Prince Malachi is the founder of The Oracle Network and the Streetwear brand Y.A.H. Apparel

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