Game 3 of the Western Conference's first round series between Kawhi Leonard and the Los Angeles Clippers and Kevin Durant and the Phoenix Suns shifts to Southern California for Games 3 and 4. But will Paul George be able to return to the lineup?

Ahead of Thursday's Game 4 in Los Angeles, the Clippers have ruled out George out due to a right knee sprain. George has been out since suffering the injury on March 21st against the Oklahoma City Thunder, and there has been no indication that he's close to a return just yet.

Paul George traveled with the Clippers to Phoenix for Games 1 and 2 against the Suns, but was never expected to play in either of those two games.

Prior to leaving for the Valley of the Sun, the Clippers practiced for a week in Los Angeles, where Paul George was seen taking standstill jumpers from all over the court.

Paul George appeared to ramp it up on Tuesday, when he was undergoing an intense workout with members of the Clippers coaching and medical staff. The workout tested George's mobility and conditioning.

Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue was intrigued with the sight of George on the court.

“Yeah, it's encouraging to see, especially after the nasty blow that he took,” Tyronn Lue said of George before flying to Phoenix for Game 1. “We 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.”

Despite him heading in the right direction, Tyronn Lue reiterated that the Clippers remain focused on getting Paul George as close to 100 percent as possible without risking re-injury.

Related Los Angeles Clippers NewsArticle continues below
LA Clippers’ 3 best options for No. 30 pick in 2025 NBA Draft
LA Clippers’ 3 best options for No. 30 pick in 2025 NBA Draft
Featured image Nic Batum
Clippers’ Nicolas Batum reveals upcoming retirement plan

“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.”

The Clippers and Suns will play every other day until Game 5. Their first two-day break will come between Games 4 and 5, and LA has been operating under the assumption that they'll need to get out of the first round in order to see Paul George return. While a return in the first round appears unlikely, it's not entirely impossible. Over the last week, George had been going through upper-body workouts while undergoing mobility and flexion workouts with the injured right knee.

Without George in the regular season, the Clippers have started Eric Gordon in his place, and that continued in Games 1 and 2 in Phoenix. Gordon started aIn two playoff games, Gordon has averaed 15.5 points on 43.8 percent shooting from beyond the arc.

The Suns have released their injury report for Game 3, which has Cameron Payne listed as ‘Questionable' with lower back soreness. Payne missed Games 1 and 2 against the Clippers because his movements are still somewhat limited. Kevin Durant and the rest of the squad is healthy and expected to suit up Tuesday.

In his recent episode of, ‘Podcast P with Paul George,' the Clippers star said he's making progress, but does not have a timetable to return just yet.

“The leg is good man, I’m making progress,” Clippers star Paul George explained. “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.

“I’m just stationary shooting, just testing it out seeing if I can jump on it, push off on it, stuff like that… I was gonna play around with the media & be like, ‘Yo, T-Lue who I got? What’s my matchup?' Just enjoying being on the court again. I was happy.”

Game 3 between Kawhi Leonard's LA Clippers and Kevin Durant's Phoenix Suns in Los Angeles will tip off Thursday at 10:30PM PST.