Lakers News: How Clippers' Paul George Loss Can Be LA's Gain
Los Angeles Clippers All-Star forward Paul George sprained his right knee on Tuesday night against his previous team, the Oklahoma City Thunder, in an eventual 101-100 loss. After knocking knees with OKC guard Luguentz Dort late in the fourth quarter, George collapsed onto the ground. He had to be helped off the floor into the team locker room with 4:38 remaining in regulation.
Per ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, George will be sidelined for at least two-to-three weeks, will effectively knock him out for the rest of the 2022-23 NBA regular season. Woj adds that PG-13 will have the knee reassessed in a few weeks, which will give LA a better sense of when he might be able to join the Clippers in the postseason.
Though the 38-35 Clippers are currently the fifth seed in the Western Conference, only 2.5 games separate them from the 11th-seeded Utah Jazz (35-37). That's how bunched-up the play-in/playoff race is in the West. There is a chance that the loss of George could knock the Clippers out of the postseason hunt entirely. Kawhi Leonard remains healthy, however (for now), so even if LA does take a bit of a tumble, I think they'll be okay. But who knows?
This obviously benefits their Crpyto.com Arena neighbors, your Los Angeles Lakers, who are currently the tenth seed at 36-37. The Lakers will face off against the Clippers on April 5th, on the second night of a back-to-back set of games. Anthony Davis may not be available for the Lakers, but without Paul George on the Clippers, the Lake Show may actually have a shot to compete. With just nine games left, every win matters.
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