The Los Angeles Clippers have been the better team in LA. Their noisy neighbors, the Lakers, have struggled to gain momentum despite performing fairly well after the trade deadline. The Clippers, on the other hand, added Russell Westbrook to their roster. Fans were excited to witness Russ pair up with his former Oklahoma City Thunder teammate Paul George once again.
The Clippers currently sit in 5th in the West, right above defending champs, the Golden State Warriors. Most of their success is owed to Paul George and Kawhi Leonard. The Clippers duo has been instrumental in their 38 wins so far this season.
The NBA world expects the Clippers to be one of the strongest West Conference teams to make the playoffs this year as well. Unfortunately for Clippers fans, PG has suffered a major injury recently and Clippers’ playoff hopes might have taken a serious hit.
When will Paul George return from injury?
The Clippers played against the Oklahoma City Thunder recently. It was in the 4th quarter when George came into contact with OKC’s Luguentz Dort. George twisted his right knee after it clashed with Dort’s. It surely looked scary and the Clippers star’s pain could be witnessed by his reaction.
The play where Paul George suffered the scary leg injury 😳pic.twitter.com/lL8wwfdb6H
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) March 22, 2023
He had to leave the game early on a cart mainly because of the seriousness of the injury. Recently, sources reported PG’s injury situation after the Clippers completed the imaging.
ESPN Sources: After imaging today, Clippers star Paul George has a sprained right knee and will be re-evaluated in 2-to-3 weeks. pic.twitter.com/jgYytDarfs
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) March 22, 2023
As Adrian Wojnarowski mentioned, the Clippers will re-evaluate George in 2-3 weeks due to a sprained right knee. This will be a huge blow for the Clippers and their playoff hopes. For some context, the Clippers’ last regular season game is on April 9, which is just over two weeks away. If the reports are right, PG could miss the rest of the regular season for the Clippers.
Taking nothing away from the other teams, the Clippers might face some trouble against the Lakers, Memphis Grizzlies, Phoenix Suns, and the Thunder in the upcoming games.
Russell Westbrook still hasn’t managed to get back to his old self but he certainly seems to be building confidence. However, George is the Clippers’ main man in both PPG and APG. If the Clippers want to reach the postseason stage, this would certainly be the time for Russ and Kawhi to step up together.