Boston traded Jaylen Brown to Philadelphia for Paul George and picks, and this season turns on whether George, at 36, can be the second star beside Jayson Tatum. Through four games the answer leans yes, but a few more months of games will decide it.
George has given Boston more than a placeholder so far.
George has scored 22.3 a game in 31.4 minutes and made 43.8% of his threes. He opened with 38 at Detroit in a 121-113 loss, and he has added 6.0 rebounds and 3.5 assists a night. Boston's net rating through four games is 8.6, a shade above the 8.3 that went with last season's 56-26. MassLive's Souichi Terada wrote that George has drawn praise for his mentorship during the strong start. On production alone, the trade has not visibly cost Boston anything.
The case against rests on age and a very small sample.
George is 36 with 16 seasons behind him, and in a four-game sample one good week moves every average. The wins argue for caution too: four points over the Knicks, one point in overtime over Brooklyn, and 35 over a Chicago team that is 1-4 with a -15.9 net rating. None of those results shows how a 36-year-old holds up across a full schedule.
Tatum's workload shows how much Boston still asks of its first option.
Tatum is playing 36.1 minutes and averaging 28.0 points and 8.0 assists while making 24.1% of his threes. He won the Brooklyn game himself, with 40 points and an overtime buzzer-beater. George's 3.5 assists suggest that most of the shot creation still runs through Tatum. If Tatum's shooting recovers and George stays near his current line, the pairing works. If George slows down first, there is nobody to take minutes off Tatum.
The answer is yes for now, but the real test is the lineup Boston gave up.
Last season Brown, White, Queta, Pritchard and Hauser posted a +17.9 net rating over 35 games and 200 minutes, a rate few five-man units reach. That group is gone, and no George lineup has a comparable figure yet. Judged by his own numbers, George is enough. Judged against what Boston gave up, he has not yet played enough minutes to prove it. Tonight's Cup game against Chicago adds a fifth data point, not a verdict.
How has Paul George played for the Celtics so far?
Through four games George has scored 22.3 points a game and made 43.8% of his threes, including 38 points in the opener at Detroit. Boston is 3-1.
What did the Celtics get for Jaylen Brown?
Boston traded Brown to the 76ers for Paul George plus two first-round and two second-round picks. Kris Rhim reported that Brown's representative denied a claim that he had demanded the trade.
