The Boston Celtics could not have asked for a better debut outing from offseason trade acquisition Paul George. George, whom the Celtics acquired for Jaylen Brown in a stunner of a deal a few months ago, went off for 38 points on 12-21 shooting from the field (7-12 from beyond the arc), adding five rebounds, three assists, and five steals. The problem, of course, is that the Celtics ran cold in the fourth and lost to the Detroit Pistons in their season-opener, 121-113.

While George does not want to take any moral victories, the Celtics have to be feeling very pleased with what they saw from the 36-year-old forward. George is looking like a hand and glove fit in Boston's system on both ends of the floor, and as seen on Tuesday, he could still fill up the scoring column if he catches fire.

What makes this scoring explosion all the more encouraging is that the Celtics didn't necessarily set out to give George extra touches. As Derrick White said, he was able to find his rhythm within the flow of the offense, and when he was making shots, it simply made sense to give him the ball more often.

“Sometimes it happens through the flow of our offense, and I think it's just on to us to make the right read. And he's an IQ player who knows where to find his spots. Anytime anybody got to going like that, you got to try to find them and keep it going,” White said after the game, per Noa Dalzell of Celtics Blog.

Asked Derrick White about whether the team made a concerted effort to get Paul George going:

“Not exactly. Sometimes it happens through the flow of our offense, and I think it's just on to us to make the right read. And he's an IQ player who knows where to find his spots.… pic.twitter.com/U8GS7puh2O

— Noa Dalzell 🏀 (@NoaDalzell) October 20, 2026

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The Celtics love getting up their threes and they also aim to win the possession battle every single night. George's combination of high-volume three-point shooting and penchant for deflections makes him a big-time asset for Boston.

Now, he won't be scoring 38 every night. This isn't 2019 anymore. But the Celtics know that they can at least rely on the 36-year-old forward to give it his all and perform his role to the best of his capabilities.