Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Billy Donovan wouldn't speculate on the Game 1 status of his leading scorer, Paul George, after he missed Wednesday's season final against the Milwaukee Bucks, calling him day-to-day, according to ESPN's Royce Young.
The Thunder will take on the Portland Trail Blazers on the first round, but are still at odds whether George will be a go for Sunday's matinee matchup between these two Western Conference teams.
George said the pain in his shoulder was simply too much to play through against the Bucks, but noted he'll do his best to be ready for the playoffs.
“It hurt,” said George, who aggravated a right-shoulder issue after hitting a crucial game-winning corner three against the Houston Rockets on Tuesday. “I couldn't do nothing with my right side. Like I said, just try to prepare as much as possible. It's playoff time, it's more about being out there with my guys. As much as it can get it (close to) a 100% as possible or close to it. You can expect me out there Sunday.”
George is enjoying a career-best season for the Thunder, posting 28.0 points, 8.2 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 2.2 steals per game, a performance that could easily get him among the top candidates for Defensive Player of the Year, though likely falling short of a finalist for the Most Valuable Player award.
Nevertheless, George's scoring punch will be much-needed for the Thunder, despite facing a Blazers team that will take the court without its starting center in Jusuf Nurkic, still bound to put up a fight against the sixth seed.
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