Paul George has taken a lot of grief for his postseason performances, and many were ready to write off the Clippers once Kawhi Leonard injured his knee. But George had a huge game 5 on the road against the Jazz and then contributed in the game 6 victory as well.

Now the Clippers will be facing the Phoenix Suns in the Western Conference Finals, and the Suns have their own issues with Chris Paul being out in game 1 due to Covid restrictions. The Clippers won’t have Leonard as well, so it will fall on Paul George’s shoulders again to step up.

Much like Seinfeld was a show about nothing, the new Gatorade “Recover Time” videos feature your favorite athletes doing nothing – which is when recovery happens.

The Gatorade campaign initially kicked-off in December 2015 to remind athletes that if it’s not game time, it’s recover time.

Gatorade Recover protein bars, shakes and powders have the right amount of carbs and high-quality protein to refuel exhausted bodies and help bring muscles back to life

“It’s Recover Time” is a compilation of recovery routines for Cam Newton, Paul George and Bryce Harper:

“Sleep” features MLB MVP, Bryce Harper, quietly recovering:

“Play” features Pacers’ Paul George recovering as he battles his teammate Joe Young in video games:

That’s the question everyone is asking as the Pacers have jumped out to an 8-0 start. Paul George seems ready to make the jump as an elite player as he’s off to a torrid start with 24.9 points per game, 7.8 rebounds and 3.6 assists while shooting 47.9%. Check out the interview above where he discusses the new season and his desire to help get the Pacers over the top. The additions of Luis Scola and CJ Watson have helped the bench scoring and soon Danny Granger will be back as well. It will be interesting to see how he fits in from a chemistry point of view, but finding minutes for him is a good problem to have.

Of course it’s very early. Miami seems to start slow every year and then they turn it on, but Indiana might make it hard for them to catch up. The Pacers seem focused on getting home court advantage, and desire is an important factor in the long NBA season.

As with competitive NBA playoff series, we’re seeing a back and forth between two excellent teams, and each game seems to produce a new conventional wisdom that the media will beat to death. The latest has Lebron James winning these games on his own in “Cleveland” mode, with Chris Both and Dwyane Wade doing their best impressions of disappearing magicians.

As with every “theme’ coming out of one game, things can change very quickly. The main characteristics of Lebron’s days in Cleveland were games like this when he couldn’t miss a shot, often followed by big games where he would clank up threes at the worst time and then wilt under pressure. Lebron is now much more mature and consistent, but there’s no guarantee that he can continue his torrid shooting in game 6.

Also, everyone is ripping on Dwyane Wade as he seems to age right before our eyes, but Wade is still capable of scoring outbursts that can help carry the Heat.

Then we have Chris Anderson. He should have been tossed in game 5, but the NBA at least got it right by booting him for game 6.

On the other side, Indiana needs to find someone to help out Roy Hibbert and Paul George. Lance Stevenson has been huge in their wins, but has had a hard time in Indiana’s losses. They need him to play well.

I think tonight’s game is a tossup, and if Indiana pulls it out, anything can happen in game 7 even though the Heat will be favored at home. It should be interesting . . .

As always, click on the table for a larger version.

A few random thoughts:

– There seems to be more stability now at #2, as the leaked image from the Sixers’ website would seem to indicate that Evan Turner is on his way to Philadelphia. There has been some movement at #3-#4, however, as it appears that Derrick Favors isn’t a shoe-in to go #3 to the Nets. Apparently, New Jersey is thinking that they can get a very good power forward in free agency (Bosh, Stoudemire, Boozer, Lee?) and Wes Johnson can help them immediately at small forward.

– Given his production and size, I’d be surprised if DeMarcus Cousins slips past the Kings at #5. If he can get his head on straight, he and Tyreke Evans would be a formidable inside/outside punch.

– Gordon Hayward is supposedly moving up draft boards, but he only appears in the first 14 picks in four of the six mock drafts that I selected. He could go as early as #8 to the Clippers, who need a small forward, and is also a threat to go #9 to the Jazz, #10 to the Pacers and #11 to the Hornets. Really, depending on Rudy Gay and Hedo Turkoglu, Hayward could go anywhere from #8 to #13.

– The Hornets pick #11 and could use a wing who can shoot. It appears that they might be choosing amongst Babbitt, Hayward, Henry and George. George can shoot it and scouts think he has the most upside of this group.