Paul George returned to the Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday like he was never gone, taking over and dropping 34 points to lead the team to a comeback win over the Utah Jazz. PG13 struggled early on, but it didn't take long for him to get his rhythm back.
After the game, George expressed his belief that he has come back as a better player compared to his version three months ago. And for him, his right elbow injury helped him improve and really take his game to the next level.
Speaking to Malika Andrews of ESPN, the Clippers forward highlighted how he was able to improve after he was forced to use his left hand in training during his recovery.
“I became a better player through this process because I had to use my left hand a lot more… to the point where I feel confident shooting threes with my left,” George explained.
Paul George certainly looked sharp on Tuesday, as he made 50 percent of his shots. He also made six of his nine 3-point attempts for the Clippers–which is already his most made triples on the season, and he did it after missing 43 straight games.
Paul George tells ESPN that he became “a better player through this (elbow rehab) process because I had to use my left hand a lot more… to the point where I feel confident shooting threes with my left.”
Catch our full one-on-one from his return on NBA Today and @SportsCenter pic.twitter.com/oxk3hkBBjv
— Malika Andrews (@malika_andrews) March 30, 2022
Following Tuesday's win, George shared that he has always kept an optimistic attitude throughout his elbow rehab process. He has never lost belief that he can come back stronger from the latest setback since it's not the first time he has suffered from a significant injury.
The Clippers star admitted that he also considered surgery to quickly address the issue, but it's a good thing he listened to his doctors and opted to let it naturally heal. After all, had he not done so, he wouldn't have the opportunity to focus on training using his left hand in games.
“Yeah, [surgery] was [a possibility]. It was. Honestly, right after it happened, I was on the side of just getting surgery and getting over it and getting it done now so I don’t have to go into a summer rehabbing and healing and nursing an injury,” George explained, per Tomer Azarly of ClutchPoints. “I wanted to hit the ground running in the summer time so immediately I wanted to get surgery, but the doctor that dealt with this and saw this a lot in athletes said that this injury heals, that the ligament will attach itself back to the bone and I should be fine, just give it some time so… Thankfully we went that direction. I feel good and he was right.”
It remains to be seen if George can keep the level of play he started in his return, but the Clippers could certainly use it as they try to keep their play-in hopes alive.
With just seven games left in the season and at eighth seed in the West, it's impossible for the LA franchise to steal any of the automatic playoff spots. However, they can protect the eighth seed to give them an easier route in the play-in tournament where they just need to win one game to qualify.
George will play a huge role in that since the Clippers are likely to lean on his heroics once again like what he did against the Jazz. Luckily for them, PG seems to be growing more in confidence after a long time on the sidelines.
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