When Will Paul George Return From Knee Injury For Los Angeles Clippers?
When they have their entire roster healthy, the Los Angeles Clippers are a championship contending team and they proved this not too long ago when they made the Western Conference Finals in 2021.
The problem with the Clippers though is that they always seem to have bad luck when it comes to injuries, as Kawhi Leonard suffered a torn ACL in the playoffs ahead of their run to the 2021 Western Conference Finals and now Paul George is out with a right knee sprain with just about a week left in the 2022-23 regular season.
The good news for Los Angeles is that George avoided a major knee injury and it is just a sprain that the team said will keep him sidelined at least two-to-three weeks.
The bad news though is that the Clippers only All-Star this season is still going to be sidelined through the remainder of the regular season with his status for the playoffs being a major question mark.
With just five games remaining on their schedule, the Clippers are just a half-game back of the 4-seed in the Western Conference, but they are also just two games ahead of the Play-In Tournament region of the standings.
There is very little room for error right now for the Clippers and their main priority is avoiding the Play-in Tournament, that way they have a chance to get Paul George back for the playoffs.
So could George be ready to return to the floor for the team's potential first-round playoff series?
Paul George has not been ruled out for the playoffs, but his return does seem like it could take some time.
According to The Athletic's Shams Charania, Los Angeles believes that they will need to win their first-round playoff series in order to have a chance at getting George back on the floor.
Obviously the best-case scenario for the Clippers is that George continues to heal over the next couple of weeks and can return at some point during the first-round of the playoffs, but knee sprains can be tricky and they are not the type of injuries that you can play through.
It is even possible that if the Clippers advance to the Western Conference Semifinals, they may still have to find ways to win without their star wing on the floor.
In his absence, the Clippers will not only have to continue to rely on two-time Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard, but Russell Westbrook as well, who is coming off of one of his best games in a Clippers' uniform with 36 points and 10 assists on Wednesday against the Memphis Grizzlies.
The path to a potential championship will not be easy for the Los Angeles Clippers this season, especially if Paul George is not able to return for the team's first-round playoff series.
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