Los Angeles Clippers fans had to hold their collective breath after seeing Paul George go down with a nasty-looking injury during Tuesday's 101-100 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder. The 32-year-old will now be forced to miss some time after being diagnosed with a sprained right knee, but at this point, there is already a lot of optimism surrounding George's return to action.

George has already been given a timetable of two-to-three weeks. After that period, the Clippers intend to re-evaluate their star swingman, with the test results expected to determine when PG can return to action. According to ESPN's NBA insider Ohm Youngmisuk, George could actually be available for LA in the first round of the playoffs:

“What I'm told is that this is a best-case scenario for Paul George that he did not suffer any ligament damage to any of his major ligaments, but he will have to have this knee immobilized probably for a couple of weeks, at least. He will be re-assessed in two-to-three weeks. … I was also told that maybe a return in the first round would be optimistic for Paul George if they make it.”

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Youngmisuk did provide a bit of a caveat for the Clippers here in that Paul George might need more time to heal up. However, even if he ends up missing the first round of the playoffs — assuming that the Clippers get there — the team remains hopeful that he will be able to come back at some point in the postseason.

At this point, however, Kawhi Leonard will need to do most of the heavy lifting for LA as they look to improve their positioning out in the West.