Paul George Speaks On If Mike Tyson Can Beat Jake Paul + More On ‘Podcast P’

Paul George speaks on Russell Westbrook’s hand injury, Wemby over Chet for Rookie of the Year, and why the league should embrace more trash talk and less techs from players on “Podcast P with Paul George”.

We share this week’s episode of “Podcast P with Paul George”, presented by Wave Sports + Entertainment, where PG and the guys share updates on Russell Westbrook’s hand injury, the emergence of Bones Hyland and the Clippers recent matchups vs. the Milwaukee Bucks.

Later in the episode, PG shares his pick for Rookie of the Year and Most Improved Player as well as reveals why Jrue Holiday is the toughest defender to score against in his NBA career.

Lastly, PG weighs in on the ongoing debate about what the league needs to do to improve defense across the league and he thinks less technical fouls and more in-game trash talk could be the solve.

EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS

• 4:05 – PG GIVES AN UPDATE ON RUSSELL WESTBROOK’S INJURY AND PRAISES BONES HYLAND FOR STEPPING UP IN RUSS’ ABSENCE

PG: “He doing good I checked up on him yesterday actually and spirits are high…He’s superhuman bro. No telling he’ll probably be back [soon]…. I know we talked when Zu [Ivica Zubac] was here like we never see him hurt. He’s the most durable person….It’s probably good that he’s taking this little time away…I think Bones has been playing well in replacement [of Russ]….He’s so quick and shifty and just got a different cadence to him. Bones is fun to watch!”

• 12:36 – PG ON PATRICK BEVERLY’S TRASH TALK TO THE CLIPPERS DURING THEIR RECENT GAMES VS. THE MILWAUKEE BUCKS

PG: “You know Pat’s the dude and is gonna hype himself up. He played well on both ends and hit a big three in my face. You know I was giving it to him all game…It’s fun. At the end of the day I know just what kind of game he’s gonna bring so I don’t even get into the back-and-forth of the game. That’s what gets him going but it was fun playing him. I’m not about to make this a Paul George vs. Pat Bev game.”

• 15:28 – PG ON THE CURRENT ROOKIE OF THE YEAR RACE AND WHY VICTOR WEMBANYAMA HAS HIS VOTE

PG: “This is a tough one because at one point Wemby goes ahead and the next point Chet goes ahead. It’s a toss up, to be honest like both of them are really deserving of the Rookie of the Year award…. It is tough like people always bring up like is Chet worthy because he’s not technically a rookie. But at the same time, this is his first official NBA season. So it is like it’s a tough debate because you’re almost stealing like somebody else’s like year. You know what I mean? I’m gonna give it to Wemby. Like Chet’s on a winning team, he’s got a great group of young guys around him so not much pressure is like solely on him. The expectation for Wemby is like extremely high, he’s playing on a young team as well but they’re not as successful and I don’t think quite yet the talent is as high as Oklahoma’s so he’s relied upon to do a lot on a nightly basis and he’s doing it. Yea, his team isn’t winning as much as Chet’s team but that’s because Chet’s team is better um and I think he’s you know he’s handling and with the expectation he’s doing a great job.”

• 30:31 – PG WEIGHS IN ON THE DEBATE OF WHETHER THE LEAGUE NEEDS TO BRING BACK HAND-CHECKING AND WHY THE LEAGUE SHOULD EMBRACE A BIT MORE CHIPPINESS BETWEEN PLAYERS

PG: “I don’t think that helps…We’re hand-checking now, you’re just not hand-checking for a long period, but you’re hand-checking still…That still goes on and it’s not something they [the refs] calling right away to we can’t hand-check. So I think that’s just gonna make for ugly basketball. People are gonna be backing down like old days and it would slow the game down for sure. So what do you want to see more? More stops or more baskets?…I think the NBA needs to let a little bit more of the chippyness, the scrappiness. The flagrants are too [much]. That will ultimately, not in a bad way as we’ve been good at preventing injuries and stars being able to play but I think the ticky-tack stuff you gotta eliminate that shit. Let dudes play, let there be a little more banter and shit talking…I think it’s just gotta be a little more raw.”

• 40:24 – PG ON WHY JRUE HOLIDAY IS THE TOUGHEST PLAYER FOR HIM TO SCORE ON IN HIS CAREER

PG: “Toughest player to score on? Probably Jrue [Holiday]… Jrue got locks like, he’s strong as shit, he’s quick, and like he loves to play defense like that is the worst thing. Like that is the worst trait that you could go up against somebody that loves to play defense. Like those are always the toughest matchups for me offensively when the guys are like super shorter than me…He has anticipation he has instincts, he knows your like tendencies like he’s a cerebral defender.”