Paul George: 'I'm coming back with a vengeance'

Paul George knows how badly he performed last season, and it's fueling him now.

Paul George is having an MVP caliber season right now, and he's doing it with a chip on his shoulder.

"I'm coming back with vengeance," George said. "I didn't like the fact that people saw weakness. I had to address that...that fueled me."

Last season went about as poorly as possible for Paul George. He came off of double shoulder surgery, never really got into a groove, and underperformed in the playoffs. Not only that, but the last image anyone had of George was him hitting the side of the backboard in a Game 7. 

That moment remained in Paul George's head all off-season. All of the trash talk remained in George's head all off-season. There was only one way to respond, and he knew exactly what to do.

"It's the only way I could respond after the tough year last year," George said. "I went to a dark place, I had nothing but to get better, that was the only thing on my mind. The only thing was to get better."

It's early, but George has responded. He's arguably been the Clippers best player this season - leading them to an early 9-4 record, which is good enough for the 2nd seed in the Western Conference. He's shooting 50/52/91 with averages of 25.2 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 5.5 APG, and 1.4 SPG - getting it done on both ends of the floor.

He told us that before the season started - that he was gonna come with it," Marcus Morris said. "I’m happy to see that aggressiveness and I know for a fact he has something to prove.”

Paul George has something to prove. The Clippers have something to prove. Right now, they're proving it.

"He’s coming out with determination and he’s focused," Kawhi Leonard said. "That’s what I see.”