The Los Angeles Clippers have been living on the edge to begin the 2024-25 season, as the team picked up its first home win of the season on Monday evening with a 26-point comeback vs the San Antonio Spurs. Next up for the Clippers is a date with the Philadelphia 76ers, which will mark the return of Paul George to the City of Angels after he departed this offseason in free agency.
Much was made about the seemingly bitter breakup between George and the Clippers, which included comments he made about the franchise on his “Podcast P with Paul George” podcast; however, it seems that the Clippers are looking to sidestep any bad blood during Wednesday's game.
“I'm told that they're going to do a big tribute video for him,” reported NBA insider Marc J. Spears of Andscape on ESPN's NBA Today. “I'm really curious to how The Wall and other Clippers fans respond to PG being back in the building.”
Of course, the building that George played in during his days as a member of the Clippers was the Crypto.com Arena, formerly known as the Staples Center, and the team moved into the recently opened Intuit Dome this offseason.
Still, it will indeed be interesting to see what kind of reaction George draws when his name is announced in the starting lineup as well as when the team displays the expected tribute video.
Can the Clippers do anything this year?
The Clippers are anxiously awaiting the return of superstar Kawhi Leonard from injury. Leonard has been nursing the same knee ailment that knocked him out of most of the first round last year against the Dallas Mavericks and also cut short his time with Team USA this summer during preparation for the Paris Olympics.
James Harden has been able to turn back the clock to some extent in keeping the Clippers' offense afloat in Leonard's absence, and Normal Powell has also enjoyed a career year (albeit in a small sample size) to open up the campaign.
Still, if the Clippers are truly to contend for anything meaningful this year, they'll definitely need their best player back in the lineup, and quickly. The team currently sits a game below .500 at 3-4.
In any case, the Clippers and 76ers are slated to tip things off at 10:00 PM ET on Wednesday from Los Angeles. The game will be carried nationally by ESPN.
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