After being out for the last three months due to a torn UCL in his right elbow, Clippers’ All-Star Paul George is gearing up to make his return this NBA season on Tuesday night against the Utah Jazz, a pivotal game for Los Angeles as the season nears the play-in tournament.
Currently 36-39, the Clippers find themselves on their worst stretch of the season, losing five straight games and eight of their last ten games. Now falling down to the 8-seed in the Western Conference, the Los Angeles Clippers will get a massive boost to their playoff chances with Paul George making his return.
According to the team, Paul George was upgraded on Monday afternoon to “Questionable” for Tuesday night’s game against the Utah Jazz in Los Angeles and shortly after, The Athletic reported that the All-Star wing is expected to return for this matchup against Utah.
Ramping up his participation in practice over the last few weeks and showing up for pregame shootarounds, Paul George had been getting ready for a return this season, even though the team had consistently said that they will be cautious with bringing either him or Kawhi Leonard back.
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Leonard had surgery on his partially torn ACL back in July, making his status for this season very much in question as well, but there is some speculation that he could possibly return within the next month since the team is bringing George back for a playoff push.
Kawhi Leonard coming back this season is a long-shot for the Clippers, but Paul George coming back is suddenly an unexpected reality and a much-needed boost to a struggling roster.
To be where they are without Paul George and Kawhi Leonard almost all season long truly is impressive, but the Clippers are still at a low-point in the season, struggling to maintain their position in the play-in tournament region of the standings.
Not only is George’s return big in the sense that the Clippers get their “go-to” scoring option back on the floor, but he will provide a calming mentality to this team, taking a lot of pressure off of key secondary talents like Reggie Jackson, Marcus Morris Sr. and others to carry the load for this team.
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No matter if he is on a minutes-restriction the rest of the regular season or not, Paul George’s return could very much shake things up near the bottom of the Western Conference standings.
As mentioned earlier, the Clippers are currently the 8-seed in the West and are now 6.5 games back of the 7-seeded Timberwolves, almost certainly keeping Los Angeles as the 8-seed come time for the play-in tournament.
Now though, with George in their lineup, this one-game series against the Timberwolves, or whoever could fall to the 7-seed, is looking much more intriguing.
The Clippers have built themselves into a very well-balanced two-way team over the years and Paul George being in the rotation changes everything for this franchise.
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In 26 games this season, George has averaged 24.7 points, 7.1 rebounds, 5.5 assists, 2.0 steals and has shot 42.1% from the floor. A complete player on both ends of the court, Paul George represents hope for this Clippers’ franchise at the end of the season.
Even with George, nobody is expecting the Clippers to go on a run, claim the 7-seed in the playoffs and beat a team like the Memphis Grizzlies in the first-round, but they can certainly give them a run for their money now.
Coming off a run to the Western Conference Finals a season ago, the Clippers have almost the same roster from several months back, making them more than well equipped to fight in a seven-game playoff series.
With Kawhi Leonard still being out, it is hard to imagine that this team can go on to make another run to the Western Conference Finals, but the Los Angeles Clippers have suddenly become a team that nobody in the Western Conference is going to want to see over these next two-to-three weeks.
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The return of Paul George means that the Clippers are not throwing in the towel this season, making them a sneaky, dangerous team heading towards the play-in tournament.
