This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Gordon Hayward was in Las Vegas with Team USA on the summer night Pacers superstar Paul George broke his leg.
He remembers well the severity of the injury and the eerie silence that hovered over Thomas & Mack Center. He wondered whether George would ever regain his All-Star form, whether he would ever be "PG" again, one of the best two-way players in the NBA.
As a competitor, and a teammate and general peer, Hayward couldn't be happier that George is back for the Indiana Pacers. He's not only playing his first full season since that gruesome injury, but has been arguably one of the top five players in the league over the first month of the season.
"It feels good to see him battle back through that," Hayward said. "That's a tough injury and you never want to see that. It just shows the technology to get him back on the court has really improved. And for him to put the work in and stay focused mentally to come back from an injury like that is cool."
When the Jazz host the Pacers on Saturday at Vivint Smart Home Arena, they will be facing one of the hottest teams in the NBA. The Pacers have won nine of their last 11 games. With a 12-6 record, they sit in third place in the Eastern Conference. Indiana is simply one of the biggest surprises in the league, a team that traditionally defends well but now has an explosive offense to go with it.
George is the engine that makes it all work. And he's having the kind of season not many envisioned for him. Through Thursday night, the 6-foot-9 forward is averaging 27 points, a little over eight rebounds and four assists per night.
In Pacer coach Frank Vogel's new small ball scheme, George is playing power forward as well as his natural small forward position, facing bigger men up on the perimeter and scoring over smaller defenders. He's shooting 46 percent from 3-point range, and he's still playing like an elite defender.
"I've been at the three," George told the Indianapolis Star. "They've been putting C.J. Miles, Chase Budinger [at power forward]; those two have been taking the load at the four spot, and for me it's just been giving me an open field, just with more space, more room to break my guy down and create."
That space has been a linchpin behind Indiana's success early in this season. George has shot the ball so well from the perimeter that his drives have created open shots for his teammates beyond the 3-point line.
The Pacers have a bunch of shooters, including Miles, a former Jazzman, Budinger, Rodney Stuckey, Monta Ellis and George Hill. Indiana started the season slow while acclimating to Vogel's new system — 7-foot-2 center Roy Hibbard was shipped to the Lakers during the offseason, allowing the Pacers to make the change — but have been one of the best teams in the league since the first few weeks.
George is "playing well this year and his team is playing well on his back," Utah shooting guard Rodney Hood said. "We've got to come in and try and make it tough for him in any way we can. But they are playing well and he's doing a good job carrying them."
The Jazz defeated the Pacers in the third game of the season, and did so by closing down the lane in the second half and pulling away in the fourth quarter for a 97-76 win. It won't be nearly as easy for Utah on Saturday night, mainly because shot-blocking center Rudy Gobert is out indefinitely and won't be available.
Gobert was instrumental in that victory, grabbing 17 rebounds, scoring nine points and generally dominating defensively. The good news is Hayward traditionally guards George well in one-on-one scenarios, and will no doubt spend plenty of time on Indiana's star on Saturday.
It's still relatively early in the season for the Jazz, but the rematch with the Pacers amounts to an important game, simply because Utah enters with an 8-9 record and doesn't want to fall too far below the .500 mark without Gobert. If the Jazz do, they may not be able to dig themselves out whenever their star center makes his return.
In the meantime, the Pacers have their star back, and that means the Jazz have a challenge on their hands.
twitter: @tjonessltrib —
Pacers at Jazz
P At Vivint Smart Home Arena
Tipoff • Saturday, 7 p.m.
TV • ROOT Sports Radio • 1280 AM
Records • Utah 8-9; Indiana 12-6
Last meeting • Utah 97, Indiana 76 (Oct. 31)
About the Pacers • Indiana started the season 0-3, but has won 12 of its past 15 games. The three losses were by an average of 10 points. … This season, the Pacers have gone small and played often with four perimeter players surrounding a center. … Indiana is surrendering 95.3 points a night, good for fourth in the league. … Former Jazz shooting guard C.J. Miles is averaging a career-high 15 points a night for the Pacers.
About the Jazz • Utah has lost two consecutive games, at home this week to Golden State and Orlando. … The Jazz are 0-3 this season without Rudy Gobert in the lineup. … Utah guard Rodney Hood had his worst game of the year against the Magic, scoring three points on 1-for-8 shooting. —
Pacers at Jazz
P At Vivint Smart Home Arena
Tipoff • Saturday, 7 p.m.
TV • ROOT Sports
Radio • 1280 AM
Records • Utah 8-9; Indiana 12-6
Last Meeting • Utah 97, Indiana 76 (Oct. 31)
About the Pacers • Indiana started the season 0-3, but has won 12 of its last 15 games. The three losses were by an average of 10 points. The Pacers have won nine of their last 11 games. … Indiana has traditionally been a big team that plays in the halfcourt. This season, the Pacers have changed their scheme, gone small and played often with four perimeter players surrounding the center position. … Indiana has kept its defensive identity, and is surrendering 95.3 points a night. That's good for fourth in the league. … The Pacers feature former Jazz shooting guard C.J. Miles, who is currently averaging a career-high 15 points a night
About the Jazz • Utah's lost two consecutive games, both home games this week, one to the Golden State Warriors and the other to the Orlando Magic. … The Jazz are 0-3 this season without Rudy Gobert in the lineup. … Utah guard Rodney Hood had his worst game of the year against the Magic, scoring three points on 1-8 shooting. … The Jazz have had two four-point plays this season, one from Alec Burks and one from Raul Neto