PLAYA VISTA – Paul George is continuing his rehab and therapy process as the start of the LA Clippers' playoff matchup against the Phoenix Suns grows near. As of Friday's practice in Los Angeles, it doesn't sound like a return is on the horizon for the eight-time NBA All-Star.
Paul George had been out since March 21st, when he suffered a sprained right knee against the Oklahoma City Thunder. George had been slowly increasing his activity, and even got out on the court to take some jumpers before practice.
“Yeah, it's encouraging to see, especially after the nasty blow that he took,” Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue said of George. “Thought it could be a lot worse than what it was. So just seeing him be able to do some things and actually starting to feel better, that's good to see because you don't want to see your players get hurt and get injured, and it could have been a lot worse than what it was.”
Paul George has been getting to the team's facility early this week to get treatment on his knee and different on-court workouts done before the start of practice.
The Clippers are set to start their playoff series against the Suns on Sunday, with a game every other day until Game 4. At this point, it still feels unlikely that he'll be able to play at any point in the series given the cautious history of the Clippers medical team.
“We're definitely not going to do anything to hurt PG,” Tyronn Lue responded when asked when or if he could return. “Even if he does try to come back and he's not right, we're not going to let him go because we're not going to let him injure himself and make it worse than what it really is. When he comes back, we'll make sure he's close to 100 percent without being able to injure himself even more.
“I'm not a doctor, I really do lean on the medical staff because like I said, I think we have one of the best medical staffs in the league.”
Ahead of the Clippers-Suns playoff series, George recorded a new episode of his show, ‘Podcast P with Paul George.' In the show, George says he’s making good progress as he undergoes rehab and therapy on the injured right knee.
“The leg is good man, I’m making progress,” Clippers star Paul George explained. “You know how it was when we first was shooting; that was two crutches, then I went to one crutch, and now no crutch.
“I don’t know how soon. But nah man, I’ve been feeling better. I’ve been working my butt off. I’ve been grinding literally every day. Six days out of the week I’m training, I’m doing rehab. So I’m gonna give it every chance I got. It’s coming down to the wire.”
The Suns and Clippers tip off Game 1 of their Western Conference first round series on Sunday at 5PM PST on TNT.
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