Paul George’s first year playing alongside Kawhi Leonard with the Los Angeles Clippers was a bit of a flop. The six-time All Star scored 21.5 points per game, his lowest total since returning from a gruesome ankle injury suffered in a Team USA exhibition match in 2014.

Injuries played a role, as he missed several games at the start of the season while recovering from shoulder surgery. But he also struggled in the playoffs – his 20.2 points per game average was his lowest postseason total since the 2012-13 season.

In an interview on the “All The Smoke” podcast with former NBA players Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson, George had an interesting explanation, essentially blaming his struggles on coach Doc Rivers.

“Doc was trying to play me as a Ray Allen or a JJ Redick, all pin-downs,” George said. “I can do it, but that ain’t my game. I need some flow, I need some mixes of some pick-and-roll and post ups.”

The Big Lead pointed out some flaws in his reasoning. For one, George should have known he was going to play with a ball-dominant player in Leonard and would have to play off the ball – which in Rivers’ system means using pin-down screens. That was always bound to happen when he chose to leave Oklahoma City and join Leonard in the offseason.

Additionally, The Ringer’s Kevin O’Connell pointed out that George did in fact play a ton in the pick-and-roll – 33% of his plays, to be exact, which is far and away a career high.

Rivers and the Clippers parted ways after they lost to the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference semifinals, and Los Angeles promoted assistant Tyronn Lue to replace him. It’ll be interesting to see whether or not George’s production improves after being released from the system he believes held him back.