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Oklahoma City Thunder: Five reasons Paul George will stay in OKC

By Joshua Lea

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK - JULY 11: Paul George of the Oklahoma City Thunder is greeted by Thunder fans on July 11, 2017 at the Will Rogers Airport in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The Thunder acquired George from the Indiana Pacers in a trade. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Layne Murdoch/NBAE via Getty Images)
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK - JULY 11: Paul George of the Oklahoma City Thunder is greeted by Thunder fans on July 11, 2017 at the Will Rogers Airport in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The Thunder acquired George from the Indiana Pacers in a trade. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Layne Murdoch/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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Oklahoma City Thunder
NEW YORK – JUNE 26: Russell Westbrook of the Oklahoma City Thunder speaks after winning the Most Valuable Player of the Year award during the 2017 NBA Awards Show on June 26, 2017 at Basketball City in New York City. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images) /

4. Paul George has never played with another superstar before.

During his tenure at Indiana, Paul George played with a variety of talent. He played with Roy Hibbert, George Hill, Monta Ellis, and Thaddeus Young. However, none of those players are Russell Westbrook.  Not only did Westbrook average a triple-double last season, he made his teammates better on a nightly basis.

Must Read: Russell Westbrook Top 10 list from historic triple-double season

So, George, having never played with Westbrook before, could experience one of his best seasons statistically. Westbrook’s ability to feed the ball to player’s in their shooting spots is almost magical. George could benefit greatly from this. George has a true shooting percentage of .587 according to basketballreference.com. In catch-and-shoot situations last season, George shot 43 percent from the floor and 41 percent from three. Although he only shot catch-and-shoot shots 34 percent of the time while on the floor, that could change under coach Donovan.

Westbrook will get the ball to George in his spots reducing the need for George to create his own shots on pull up jumpers. Because of the Indiana offense, George shot more pull up jumpers deep in the shot clock last season at 40 percent during games. Expect for George to thrive in a spread pick-and-pop offense under Westbrook and Donovan.

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