Paul George says he is ready to step into No. 1 role with Pacers

Danny Granger is back. Roy Hibbert is a force in the paint. David West is a rock solid voice in the locker room.

But the Pacers are becoming Paul George’s team.

And the All-Star entering his fourth season told the Indianapolis Star he is ready to take on that top role.

“This whole summer, I really trained being the go-to guy and the lead guy for our team. Last year, we still had Danny and did not know the results (of Granger’s injury) coming into the year. I had a role that I had kind of prepared for and trained for. This year, it was more about training to be the No. 1 guy and lead this team.”

George spent part of his summer at the Team USA mini-camp where Mike Krzyzewski and the USA Basketball staff got a good look at the young talent in the league. He left that camp with people saying he’s pretty much a lock to be on Team USA in Spain for the World Championships next summer.

George is the leader now and the Pacers did a very good job this summer upgrading the team’s bench with Luis Scola, C.J. Watson and Chris Copeland. The Pacers are contenders.

There are just two key questions and they both revolve around George.

First, can George and Danny Granger mesh fully? Second, if they can, how far can George’s versatile game take them? Because right now Pacers fans are thinking title run, and the Pacers should be in that mix.