Paul George seems to shade James Harden's defense in response to his own struggles

Los Angeles Clippers star forward Paul George shot just 3-of-16 from the field in Friday’s Game 3 win over the Dallas Mavericks.

The All-Star has shot 21 percent over the past two games, including a 17 percent mark from three-point range. Despite this, Los Angeles boasts a 2-1 series lead in its first-round matchup against the Mavericks.

Following Friday night’s win, George had a rather interesting comment relating to his struggles. In the process, he seemed to shade MVP candidate James Harden of the conference-rival Houston Rockets. George told reporters in Orlando:

“Like I said, I’m no James Harden, that’s not my knack, to just shoot the ball and score the ball. I can, and I pride myself on being effective on both ends, but it’s gonna be nights like this where I can’t make shots and I can’t allow that to affect my game.” 

That seems to be a shot thrown in the direction of Mr. Harden. George is pretty much saying that the Rockets’ star plays hero ball and doesn’t pride himself with being a capable defender. It’s hard to read this any other way.

By now, it’s well known that Harden likes to hoist it from pretty much all over the court. He averaged 22.3 shot attempts per game during the regular season. That included 12.4 three-point attempts per game. As for the Rockets, they are taking shots from beyond the three-point line at a record clip right now.

There’s a chance the Clippers and Houston meet up in the conference finals. 

Can you say bulletin-board material?