Editorial

Paul George To Miss Time With Injury, Flushing The Los Angeles Clippers’ Title Hopes Down The Drain

Paul George of the Los Angeles Clippers will miss at least the next two weeks of action due to a right knee sprain. Twitter/Screenshot/ACLrecoveryCLUB

Twitter/Screenshot/ACLrecoveryCLUB

Seth Roy Contributor
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Paul George of the Los Angeles Clippers is expected to miss significant time due to a right knee injury suffered Tuesday night. 

George hyperextended his right knee during the fourth quarter of Los Angeles’ 101-100 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder and needed help by team staffers to make it off the court.  

Following imaging on his right knee after the game it was revealed George suffered a sprain and will be out of the Clippers’ lineup for at least the next two weeks, according to NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski. Wojnarowski reported that George will be re-evaluated again in two to three weeks. 

This is a tough blow for Los Angeles considering they’re less than a month away from the postseason beginning. The Clippers need George healthy if they expect to contend for the Western Conference crown or for an NBA championship. 

George has played some of the best basketball of his career this season. He’s averaging 23.8 points, 6.1 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game, according to ESPN. George’s 6-foot-8-inch frame gives him the unique ability to defend every position on the floor. George could go from defending a 5-foot-11-inch perimeter shooter on one possession and then switch onto a 7-foot-2-inch center in the paint on the next. (RELATED: New York Knicks Legend, Basketball Hall Of Famer Willis Reed Dead At 80)

Over the years, George’s defensive versatility has earned him the reputation of being an elite defender. He’s been voted to the All-NBA Defensive First Team twice (2014, 2019) as well as to the All-NBA Defensive Second Team (2013, 2016), according to NBA.com. There’s nobody on LA’s bench or in free agency that will make up for what George does on a night-to-night basis. 

To understand just how good George is, he pulled off a nasty 360 dunk in traffic a quarter before his knee gave out.

The Clippers are doomed without George in their lineup. If his knee injury forces him to miss the postseason, Los Angeles will go another year without a title.