Paul George and Lance Stephenson MIAMI, FL – MAY 22: Paul George #24 and Lance Stephenson #1 of the Indiana Pacers look on in the second half against the Miami Heat during Game One of the Eastern Conference Finals at AmericanAirlines Arena on May 22, 2013 in Miami, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)

The Pacers lost to the Cavs again on Monday, falling into a 2-0 hole in the first round series. Once again, Indiana star Paul George called out a teammate after the loss. This time, the subject was Lance Stephenson.

“He’s got to learn to control himself. He’s got to learn to just be in the moment. Lance is, in our locker room, is looked upon as a leader, one of our leaders. So his body language has to improve. Just for the team. We all know Lance is an emotional guy. A lot of it is just his heart and his competitiveness, that emotion comes out. But he’s just got to channel that and put it towards making effort plays on the court and doing whatever he needs for us to succeed.”

Stephenson joined the Pacers at the end of March, but he previously spent the first four years of his career with the franchise until he signed with Charlotte in 2014. Playing alongside George, Stephenson helped Indiana to two Eastern Conference Finals appearances, but they lost to the LeBron James and the Miami Heat both times.

Stephenson scored 13 points in Monday’s loss, but he also got called for four fouls. The frustration started to mount up, and at one point Pacers coach Nate McMillan had to tell him to calm down.

Not that George has stepped out of line, but this is the second game in a row where he’s criticized a teammate publicly. Veteran shooting guard C.J. Miles missed a potential game-winner at the end of Game 1, and George expressed his desire to get the last shot. After all, he is the all-star averaging north of 30 points per game this month, and he had 29 points on 9-for-19 shooting to that point in Game 1.

(That also wasn’t the first time this season George has expressed his frustration with the team.)

George went off again in Game 2 for 32 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, but it wasn’t enough as the Pacers fell 117-11 to the Cavs. They head home to Indianapolis in a 2-0 hole.

When talking about Stephenson, George isn’t really stepping out of line. He’s just answering the reporter’s question that specifically asked about Stephenson’s on-court antics. He also paid Stephenson a pretty big compliment by calling him a leader, considering Stephenson has been in the locker room for only a few weeks.

[Sports Illustrated]

About Jesse Kramer

Jesse is a writer and editor for The Comeback. He has also worked for SI.com and runs The Catch and Shoot, a college basketball website based in Chicago. He is a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University. Follow Jesse on Twitter @Jesse_Kramer.

1 thought on “Paul George says Lance Stephenson needs to ‘learn to control himself’

  1. “as the Pacers fell 117-11 to the Cavs.”

    Damn…pro leagues really DON’T have a Mercy Rule… 🙂

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