NBA
Clippers report that star Paul George will be out for at least 2 to 3 weeks due to his latest knee injury
After Clippers’ Paul George left this Tuesday night’s match against Oklahoma City due to a leg injury, his team’s medical staff have announced he will be missing action for at least 2 to 3 weeks until his next reevaluation.
As his club referred to the swingman’s new sprained right knee this Wednesday, fans are coming to the realization that one of his team’s stars will definintely be sidelined for the remainder of regular season, missing at least the next 7 matches with only 9 left to go before playoffs.
ESPN Sources: After imaging today, Clippers star Paul George has a sprained right knee and will be re-evaluated in 2-to-3 weeks. pic.twitter.com/jgYytDarfs
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) March 22, 2023
The injury was suffered in the Los Angeles side’s 101-100 loss to the Thunder, as the 32-year-old fell to the floor in pain after being fouled by rival guard Luguentz Dort, only to be helped to the locker room after the harsh play.
“I went up for the rebound, kind of hit his leg,” Dort said. “I didn’t do it on purpose, definitely an accident.”
By that point in the match, George had dropped 18 points, won 7 rebounds and handed out 5 assists. The eight-time NBA All-Star, who is in his 13th NBA season, is averaging 23.8 points, 6.1 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 1.5 steals per contest for the Clippers this campaign.
So now, losing George for the final stretch run of the season could put his squad’s aspirations in jeopardy as they are focused on making it to the playoff. “This is potentially a devastating loss for the Clippers organization,” ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski said. “That takes you through the rest of the season and into the post-season. A post-season that the Clippers still need to qualify for.”
After the defeat, the Clippers still stand 5th in the Western Conference with a 38-35 record, but are only two games ahead of 10th-place Utah in the Western’s fearless battle for the last post-season spots.
Most of our favorite sport betting sites still believe the Los Angeles side holds a title-contending case this season, as the team possesses the 9th best odds (+2000) in the league to conquer the NBA trophy this year.
However, a few of these sites consider their city rivals to have even better chances at this, even though the Lakers are still ranking 10th in the standings.
Clippers Leonard and George are yet to confront a healthy playoff run together
Ever since the major pieces of this team came together in 2019, they are still to enjoy a playoff competition with their stars healthy and ready for action.
“There is a hope, some optimism that the Clippers can get into the playoffs and recover George, but then again, this is a right knee sprain,” NBA insider Woj said. “They’ll know better in a couple of weeks if he’s better, how he’s healing. They are yet to have a post-season together were they’ve been healthy.”
Unfortuntaley for the Clippers, their last game was lost by mercy of Gilgeous-Alexander, who was traded in that famous deal that brought George to Los Angeles from Oklahoma four years ago. The Thunder star scored his squad’s last six points, before Kawhi Leonard missed to make a shot on the contest’s final possession.
About George’s injury, Leonard said he had no clarity on what happened to his teammate. “I didn’t see the play,” he said. “I just thought he got hit in the face at the time.”
Nevertheless, Leonard said there is no time to waste.“Next man up,” the star expressed about the possibility of playing without George. “We got a group of guys that still want to win, like to play basketball, so we’ll see what happens.”