NBA All-Star Game Thread: Paul George set to make his fourth All-Star appearance

The NBA All-Star game tips off at 8 p.m. ET from New Orleans and will be broadcast on TNT.

Paul George will make his fourth appearance in the showcase game, representing the Pacers as an Eastern Conference reserve chosen by the coaches. After enduring a six-game losing streak leading into the break, there’s been a lot of chatter about PG’s deficiencies as an elite player and leader in the league.

But don’t forget, PG remains an elite player, the type of which not all teams enjoy. If for some reason, you don’t think PG deserves his spot on the All-Star roster, here are some numbers from John Schuhmann that should straighten you out.

Paul George, F, Indiana Pacers

Effective field goal percentage of 51.1 percent and true shooting percentage of 56.9 percent are both career-high marks.

Ranks second in the league (behind Stephen Curry) in free throw percentage at 91.4 percent.

Has shot 50 percent (37-for-74) in the clutch, the third best mark among players who have attempted at least 50 clutch shots.

One of four players with at least 300 rebounds, 150 assists, 75 steals and 100 3-pointers.

The Pacers have scored 108.1 and allowed 106.0 points per 100 possessions with him on the floor. Those are the highest on-court OffRtg and DefRtg marks of his career, both by a wide margin.

More SportVU: Has a usage rate of 54 percent when using a ball screen. That's the second highest mark in the league (behind Wiggins - 55 percent) among 101 players who have used at least 300 ball screens.

Video: Watch George's 16 baskets in the last three minutes with the score within three points.

Paul George also dropped by Area21 to have a conversation on hoops and PG opened up a bit about his struggles being the last man standing from the group that went to the Eastern Conference finals with the organization looking at him to lead the new faces.

The interview was broken up into chunks on Twitter where you can also hear PG talk about his big sister pounding him on the court when he was a kid.

PG on his relationship with Larrry Bird.

PG with KG on making his 4th NBA All-Star Game.

We can only hope KG remains a resource to provide PG inspiration on the leadership front. I always recall KG bringing his team together via peanut butter and jelly sandwiches which he always enjoyed before games. Before long, everyone was eating them, but it wasn’t about the PB&J’s.

So please use this post as a game thread which for the All-Star game can also double as a trade deadline thread or any other Pacers’ topic thread.