Paul George was not happy with his season debut with the Los Angeles Clippers, despite putting up some gaudy numbers in a 132-127 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans.
George put up a team-high 33 points, but he's clearly a harsh grader:
“I thought I was terrible,” said George, according to Andrew Greif of the Los Angeles Times. “I got a lot to get back to just from my performance, my defense and just for the flow of the game and then just, I haven’t had any time to get a feel for this speed in a long time. It’s just good to get this one under my belt.”
While George said his shoulders felt good after taking contact on Thursday, he noted the game felt like his first preseason game.
If that's the case, it was quite a preseason showing, as he scored his 33 points on 10-of-17 shooting, including 3-of-5 from deep and a perfect 10-of-10 from the foul line in just 24 minutes of action:
.@Yg_Trece’s 33 points marked the third highest total for a Clippers debut in franchise history.
Full highlights ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/Ht9IxTolsE
— LA Clippers (@LAClippers) November 15, 2019
According to Elias Sports Bureau, no player has ever finished with 30+ points in 25 or fewer minutes in his 1st game with a team before Paul George did tonight.
(Via Clippers PR)
— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) November 15, 2019
There was only so much George could do in his 24 minutes on the court, though. Clippers head coach Doc Rivers was forced to rely on the duo of Lou Williams and Montrezl Harrell, who started in the absence of Kawhi Leonard (knee injury management) and Patrick Beverley (sore left calf).
The Pelicans trotted out a 36-point scorcher from Jrue Holiday and a 20-point, 20-rebound night from Derrick Favors, which proved enough to dismantle a Clippers team still putting the pieces to the puzzle together.
The Clippers will have more time to get George going as his minutes ramp up, including his future partnership with Leonard, once the two are healthy enough to take the floor together.
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