Paul George is playing mind games with Heat, his Pacers teammates and the Cleveland Cavaliers.
George expressed to ESPN.com that the Pacers are built to withstand the pressure of this coming season, but LeBron James and the Cavaliers are the Eastern Conference favorites.
“With Lance being gone and everyone thinking this is going to be a rebuilding year for us,” Paul George said during Team USA training camp this week, “immediately when LeBron went to Cleveland, that made them the front-runners.”
But the Pacers, with a strong core led by George still in place, are certainly not rebuilding, right?
“People do look at it that way,” George insisted, perhaps even trying to sell it. “I’ve got a lot of pressure and I’m coming into this year and I’m ready to live up to that pressure.”
The Cavs are going to have playoff expectations, but did George really confess to being prepared to handle the pressure, while placing all of it squarely on the shoulders of one LeBron James?