Three Stars: Paul George on the rise

There’s nothing quite like the phenomenon of watching a young player ascend to stardom. When a young player bursts on to the scene and starts making extraordinary plays routine, he captures our imagination. How good could 22-year-old Paul George be? Who does he remind us of? Potential is enticing on its own, but when it’s paired with production our minds really start to race. We don’t know where George will end up in his career, but for right now, let’s settle for ranking him with two surprise performances from an entertaining Tuesday night in the association:

Three Stars: Jeremy Lin - (28 points, 9 assists, 5-for-8 from deep)

Speaking of taking the world by storm, let’s talk about Jeremy Lin. No one understands the rise to stardom quite like Lin, who has seen the highest of the highs in his Knicks days and some low valleys with the Rockets. Lin has suffered the fate most talented “fresh” players do — they become popular, everyone loves them, and then people start to pick at their weaknesses and bring them back down to earth. While Lin hasn’t been on the level he was last year, he hasn’t exactly been a bust either. He’s nifty off the dribble, good in the pick-and-roll, and has pretty quick hands defensively. Lin’s biggest problem is his shooting stroke, but tonight it was no problem at all. Lin connected on career-high five 3-pointers against the Warriors, leading the way in a record-tying night for the Rockets.

Second Star: Samuel Dalembert – (35 points, 12 rebounds, 17-for-21)

This has to be the most random scoring performance of the year, right? Milwaukee Bucks center Samuel Dalmbert has played in 26 games this season, averaging 15 minutes a game and 5.7 points. But tonight against the Nuggets, something got into ‘ol Sam and he went off. Dalembert rattled off a career-high 35 points in 27 minutes on an incredible 17-for-21 shooting night, regularly knocking down the little 15 footer he’s honed for years. Dalembert blew his previous career-high of 27 points out of the water, but the Bucks melted down in the fourth quarter and allowed the Nuggets to storm back. It’s a shame the game of Dalembert’s life was wasted by Brandon Jennings and Monta Ellis, who combined to go 11-for-36 for 24 points and 9 turnovers.

First Star: Paul George – (29 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists)

Anytime you have to tell people to stop with the comparisons to an all-time great, you’re doing pretty well:

Yeaaaa the TMac comparisons is coo but it's too early for that.. Lemme be ME! The best way I can!—
Paul George (@Paul_George24) February 06, 2013

George is playing with an unreal confidence offensively right now, and it’s reflected in his personal numbers and Indiana’s big nights recently. In the last 10 games, George is averaging nearly 20 points, 8 rebounds and 4.5 assists a contest. Indiana, meanwhile, has scored over 100 points in 6 of their last 10 games, which is almost unthinkable earlier in the season. George’s ability to get his shot off late in the clock is a huge factor for Indiana, and his ability to use those long limbs in transition and dunk everything doesn’t hurt either. With Danny Granger set to return soon, it will be interesting to see how the new George co-exists with such a high usage player like Granger. Will he defer, or will he continue on his scoring warpath? We’ll have to wait and see, but for now, just try and enjoy the overall display George is putting on.