Los Angeles Clippers forward Paul George provided an update on his health on Tuesday. George has yet to play in the Clippers' first-round series against the Phoenix Suns as he continues to recover from a sprained knee. While speaking with media members, George said that if he feels good enough at the six-week mark, he plans to try to play. In order to reach that six-week mark though, the Clippers would need to advance to the second round, and their prospects of doing so currently look pretty bleak.
"I haven't quite hit the six-week mark yet," George said, via ESPN. "So it'll definitely be a decision and one that I'll have to look at and say, I either give it a try or see if we get past that and be full strength in the second round."
The Suns currently hold a 3-1 lead over the Clippers, who have also been without the services of Kawhi Leonard due to a knee injury of his own. Leonard is currently sidelined indefinitely. The Clippers have competed admirably without their two best players, but the talent disparity has simply proved too big to overcome.
George has been sidelined since March 21 when he hyperextended his knee during the Clippers' loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder. The injury happened when George landed awkwardly after grabbing a rebound. You can see the play below:
The play where Paul George suffered the scary leg injury 😳pic.twitter.com/lL8wwfdb6H
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) March 22, 2023
George is making positive progress in his rehabilitation from the injury, but certain things just can't be rushed, and he acknowledged that there are some concerns about potentially coming back to soon and re-aggravating the injury.
"Six-week mark was the earliest, that was just being super aggressive for the injury that I had," George said. "So there's a huge concern or a huge risk coming back too soon ... there are some limitations. I know there's been some soreness from playing and rebuilding that muscle memory stuff again. So it's honestly just been taking it one day at a time and see where I go from there."
Overall, it seems like if the Clippers are somehow able to advance to the Western Conference semifinals, George could potentially be ready to get back out on the floor. But advancing past Phoenix without him and Leonard will be a very tough task.
