Paul George says former teammate Lance Stephenson’s antics ‘could’ve been avoided’
What’s the last thing you remember from the Indiana Pacers playoff run? If you’re thinking what I’m thinking, Lance Stephenson’s moment with LeBron James immediately comes to mind. Yes I’m speaking of the blowing in his ear. That’s peak-Lance.
To the world, Stephenson’s antics were a large distraction, but to the Indiana Pacers they were apart of the Lance Stephenson package, though, according to All-Star Paul George, Stephenson could’ve avoided a few of his tricks.
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"After the season finale, George gave a lukewarm endorsement for the Pacers attempting to re-sign Stephenson. Now, George says a lot of Stephenson’s antics “could have been avoided” but it wasn’t a major team distraction.“We all know what kind of player Lance was,” George said. “Lance always tried to get under people’s skin. Some of it could be avoided. But at the end of the day, that’s what gets Lance going.”"
It was difficult to gauge whether the Pacers were truly distracted from Lance’s actions. Did they play a hand in the Indiana Pacers falling to the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference finals? Of course not though fans may pinpoint Lance’s blowing in the ear of LeBron James as a ‘turning point’ in the series. But it caught the attention of the world pushing the antics to become a much bigger problem than it truly was.
Of course, the Pacers won’t have to deal with Lance anymore. He’s the Charlotte Hornets’ problem now.