Paul George Speaks Up After Going Down 0-2: "We Have To Rise To The Occasion."

Paul George has been heavily scrutinized by much of the NBA community for his role in last year's collapse by the Clippers.

This year, while he is playing much better, he and Kawhi are failing to push their team past the first round.

Facing a 2-game deficit with the series headed to Dallas, PG himself responded, telling the media that it's time for the Clippers to prove themselves.

"We have to rise to the occasion. Fact of the matter is if we don’t, we’re done for. But there’s no level of concern....

Dallas is free, they're playing with confidence. I think we're giving them a little bit too much confidence."

At the end of the day, the greatness of Luka Doncic is obviously playing an enormous role in their success, and we can't ignore that.

It would be hard for anyone to slow him down right now.

Still, the Clippers are, at least on paper, the better team. They've got more fire-power, they've got a deeper bench, and they've got a squad with a bigger chip on their shoulders.

If they want to be taken seriously in the West any time soon, they're going to have to prove they overcome this challenge and beat this Maverics team. Neither PG, nor Tyronn Lue, seem particularly worried about their chances.

Should we be?