I have mostly come around to the idea of Paul George with the Boston Celtics, but I do have some big concerns (namely his injury concerns and his age).
George clearly still has a lot left in the tank. He had a strong end to the season last year (especially against the Celtics in the first round of the playoffs, when he averaged 17.4 PPG, 4 RPG, 3 APG, 1.4 SPG, and recorded 48.9/55/77.8% shooting splits). He is also an elite catch-and-shoot player (he shot 41.7% off catch-and-shoot threes last season) and has excelled in a connector/complement-type of role, which is the one he's going to play in Boston.
He's a great fit in Joe Mazzulla's system (he can shoot, score, defend, and move the ball around at a high level), and he's also said all the right things since coming to Boston.
There is absolutely a world where George can help the Celtics return to the promised land, and trading Jaylen Brown for him (and the Los Angeles Clippers' first-round pick in 2028, by the way) works out in the end.
But none of this is going to matter or happen if George isn't on the court (especially come playoff time), and based on his track record, this is a very real concern to have.
Paul George's injury issues are a real concern for the Celtics
Since the 2018-19 season (his last with the Oklahoma City Thunder), the California native has appeared in 60 or more games just once (74 games in 2023-24 with the Clippers). George says he's feeling good and healthy, but it's a long season, and this is something where we're going to have to see it to believe it (I'm not sure if even seeing it will allow me to believe it, but I guess we'll find out).
He doesn't need to be the Indiana Pacers version of himself, but George is expected to be a big part of Boston's success this season. The Celtics will need him to take a ton of pressure off of Jayson Tatum, and they might need to run the offense through him whenever Tatum is having an off game or isn't on the court. But if he also isn't on the court, then this could be disastrous for Boston.
The Celtics don't need George to play all 82 games (he probably doesn't even need to play in 50 for them to be a top seed in the East), but they're going to need him to be healthy and available down the stretch and into the playoffs. And right now, while I'm looking at it in a glass-half-full type of way, I have real concerns about this actually happening.
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