LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Clippers are hoping to keep their playoff hopes alive long enough for Paul George to return from his knee injury. George made his return to the team on Saturday, April 8th, for the first time since suffering a knee sprain.
George arrived to Crypto dot com Arena to support his Clippers teammates for their final game of the regular season against the Portland Trail Blazers.
The Clippers updated Paul George‘s status on Saturday, saying that he's continuing to undergo exercises and therapies to rehabilitate his sprained knee. With just two days remaining in the regular season, the Clippers say there is no timeline for his return to play.
George suffered the injury on March 21 in the Clippers' loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
“I don't think what he did was malicious, he wasn’t trying to hurt me,” Paul George said on his podcast. “He was just trying to play hard. He can get wild at times, but he's a hard worker, plays hard and was trying to get extra possessions. I don't knock him for competing. It was just a freak accident.”
George jumped for a defensive rebound with just over four minutes remaining in the game between the Clippers and Thunder. He grabbed the rebound, but Dort came in swinging for the ball, missing, and making contact with George's leg from the front as it hit the ground. George's leg hyperextended in a somewhat gruesome fashion, sending him immediately to the floor in pain.
Paul George shed his crutches earlier this week, beginning to put pressure on his knee and slowly working in mobility therapy. He underwent a pregame workout on Saturday, but his work has mainly remained on his upper body. The Clippers will look to secure a playoff seed without him, and there's still an expectation that he likely won't be ready to return at any point in the first round.
In 56 appearances for the Clippers this season, Paul George averaged 23.8 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 5.1 assists, and 1.5 steals per game on 45.7 percent shooting from the field and 37.1 percent from three