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Clippers star Paul George: ‘I think I got a lot of good years in me’

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James Foglio
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James Foglio Sports Editor

James is a Basketball Insiders contributor. He earned his bachelor's degree in English and Creative Writing from Southern New Hampshire University. James enjoys watching sports and helping gamblers win money.

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Sports Editor

Updated26 Apr 2023

Clippers star Paul George - 'I think I got a lot of good years in me'

Los Angeles Clippers guard Paul George is optimistic about his future in the City of Angeles, despite Tuesday night’s 136-130 series-ending loss to the Phoenix Suns in Game 5 of the 2023 NBA Playoffs.

“I think I got a lot of good years in me; I know Kawhi thinks he’s got a lot of good years in him,” George told Law Murray of The Athletic prior to Game 5. “I mean, I’m not going to put any pressure on that anytime soon.”

Per a few NBA betting sites, since the Clippers have been eliminated, the Golden State Warriors and Denver Nuggets now possess greater odds of winning the championship. Sportsbooks show the Suns with second-shortest odds.

“The only thing I can do is continue to just work on my game, work on myself and just try to be available as much as possible,” George added. “It hurts to not play and watch the guys put it all in the line and not be able to do the same. It’s very frustrating, and it sucks. It really does suck.”

George missed the Clippers’ entire first-round series against Phoenix due to a sprained right knee. The 13-year veteran suffered the injury in a 101-100 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on March 21. Also because of a separate hamstring strain, the eight-time All-Star missed a total of 26 games in the regular season.

Paul George believes he has ‘a lot of good years’ left if he can avoid injuries, feels the Clippers can win a championship

“It’s super frustrating to put so much into the season, put so much into this group and the organization to put so much into making a team that could compete, and again, year after year, just getting zapped by injuries,” the six-time All-NBA member mentioned.

“I’m very optimistic that our time will come. It’s just been a bump in the road that hopefully this period right here is the time that we have injuries and the next however long in my career that I’m past the injury stages.” Russell Westbrook led the Clippers in points (23.6 PPG), assists (7.4 APG), steals (1.2 SPG), and blocks (1.4 BPG) against Phoenix.

In 56 starts this season, George averaged 23.8 points, 6.1 rebounds, 5.1 assists, 1.5 steals, and 34.6 minutes per game. Plus, the guard shot 45.7% from the floor, 37.1% beyond the arc, and 87.1% at the foul line.

Additionally, in the Clippers’ 131-130 loss against the Indiana Pacers on Dec. 31, George scored a season-high 45 points in 40 minutes of action. Along with notching nine boards, four assists, and three steals, the guard shot 15-of-25 (60%) from the field and knocked down seven 3-pointers.

Without Kawhi Leonard and Paul George healthy, the Clippers are a pretender. They struggled without their two best players, as would any other contending team.

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