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Oklahoma City Thunder All-Star Paul George will be held out of Thursday night's game against the Philadelphia 76ers due to a bout of shoulder soreness:
Paul George (right shoulder soreness) is out tonight against the Sixers.
— Brett Dawson (@BDawsonWrites) February 28, 2019
This is obviously tough news for Thunder fans, as George has become one of the team's primary options on the offensive end of the floor. There is no report of serious injury, which means he could be getting a night off for rest. He has played 40 or more minutes in all but one of his previous six games.
In 59 appearances with the Thunder this season, George has racked up averages of 28.6 points on 44.8 percent shooting from the field (39.8 percent from beyond the arc), 8.1 rebounds, 4.3 assists and a career-high 2.3 steals in 36.7 minutes per contest.
In his last outing — a 121-112 loss to the Denver Nuggets on Tuesday — George logged 40 minutes, notching 25 points, eight rebounds, seven assists and a whopping six steals.
It's unclear who Thunder head coach Billy Donovan will go with in George's place. Markieff Morris, Hamidou Diallo and Abdel Nader could see upticks in their usage rates. Russell Westbrook will also see a hefty load of minutes.
Thursday's Thunder-Sixers game is scheduled to tip inside Chesapeake Energy Arena at 8:00 p.m. ET, with TNT having live broadcast coverage. According to ESPN, the Sixers have beaten the Thunder just once — Nov. 15, 2008 in Philadelphia — losing 19 consecutive games overall and nine consecutive games in Oklahoma City.
