Podcast P With Paul George: “Westbrook Coming Off The Bench, Clippers Losing Streak, & Draymond Chokehold”

Paul George speaks on the James Harden and Russell Westbrook lineup change, finally breaking the Clippers’ losing streak, and the unwritten rules of NBA fights on “Podcast P With Paul George”.

We share highlights from today’s episode of “Podcast P With Paul George”, which is presented by Wave Sports + Entertainment.

This week, PG and the guys sit down to discuss the team overcoming their recent six-game losing streak, James Harden’s clutch game-winning 4-point play, and how the new-look Clippers remain optimistic that they’ll hit their stride soon.

PG also talks about Russell Westbrook’s decision to come off the bench and the leadership he brings to the team.

Later in the episode, they take a look back at the Draymond Green – Rudy Gobert choking incident that netted Draymond a 5-game suspension and some of the unwritten rules of NBA scuffles.

EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS

• 00:40 – PG ON WESTBROOK STEPPING UP AND VOLUNTEERING TO COME OFF THE BENCH TO HELP THE CLIPPERS ROTATION

“For us to go through this stretch of not winning and not knowing how to win with this squad yet, for him to take the initiative and be like ‘you know what I’ll sacrifice and I’ll try to make this work and come off the bench’ it just says a lot about him, bro. He never ceases to amaze me, as long as I’ve played on the same teams and as long as I’ve known him. Every day it’s something new. Shout out to him [Russell Westbrook]. That’s not an easy decision to make, especially when you still have so much game and value to this league.”

• 02:50 – PG ON JAMES HARDEN’S GAME WINNING 4-POINT PLAY TO BREAK THE CLIPPERS LOSING STREAK

“Vibes was definitely high…You get one win and now the expectation has changed, the energy has changed, that attitude going into games has changed…We were getting better and now we finally got over the hump. So now we know what that feels like.”

• 11:40 – PG REFLECTING ON THE ADVERSITY THE TEAM FACED SINCE THE JAMES TRADE

“Speaking for myself, I was obviously frustrated, losing six straight games, and especially with the talent and the guys we have in the locker room. As much as we’re positive, optimistic, and truly believe that it will work, still no one likes losing, no one likes being out there, competing, giving everything you can, and coming up with a loss. So that part gets to you but the beauty in this team, honestly is we’re enjoying this process. I think that’s what separates us and why we’re not boiling over and shaking up the locker room. We honestly are enjoying trying to figure this out because we understand and realize the big picture of what this will be if all four of us can pull this off and bring this together and do something special.”

• 29:14 – PG AND THE GUYS REFLECT ON DRAYMOND GREEN CHOKING RUDY GOBERT

“If there’s a scuffle or a fight, you’re responsible to go get your teammate, like don’t grab another team’s [player] like that and I think that’s what Dray [Draymond Green] acted, and I thought it was an overreaction. I don’t think Rudy [Gobert] grabbed Klay [Thompson] hard enough for that response to be ‘let me grab Rudy back’…but in that moment I could see Draymond being like ‘hey go check your teammate, not mine.’”

• 30:38 – PG ON THE LACK OF RESPONSE FROM RUDY GOBERT’S FELLOW TEAMMATES DURING THE SCUFFLE

“I mean, let’s be honest, dudes ain’t fighting in the league…Guys aren’t fighting on that stage, in an NBA game. That hasn’t happened in a really long time. Probably since the CP [Chris Paul], [Rajon] Rondo situation.”