Paul George is targeting a November return and debut for the Los Angeles Clippers
The Los Angeles Clippers may have won the offseason by inking Kawhi Leonard and then trading for Paul George, but with training camps officially opening it’s time for them to actual perform on the hardwood.
However, the Clippers are going to have to get through the preseason and start the 2019-20 regular season without Paul George, who is still recovering from offseason shoulder surgery. Although, the hope is that he won’t miss much regular season time.
Perh ESPN, who interviewed George, the plan is that he’ll target a Novemeber return. This is not to say that he’l firmly make his Clippers debut in November, but perhaps a heads up that he’s going to, at least, miss all of October.
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"[via ESPN]“I will be out of the preseason,” George told ESPN. “As of now, I’ll be out of October fully, but who knows? We’ll see. In the November range is our target date.”"
Which leaves the onus on Kawhi Leonard and the rest of the roster to keep this team afloat in the Western Conference until they’re fully healthy. George is coming off one of his best seasons of his career, and was largely viewed as an MVP candidate before his play dropped over the latter portion of the season due to his injury.
George averaged a career-high 28 points, eight rebounds and four assists per game while shooting 44 percent from the field and 39 percent from 3-point range. He was also one of the best peremiter defenders in the league, and was arguably the biggest reason why the Thunder were a pleasent surprise during the first half of the season.
The big question is, can the Clippers manage to not fall too far behind in the brutal Western Conference? If Los Angeles can stay afloat for the month that George will likely be out to start the season, there’s a good chance the Clippers will be in the running to compete for homecourt advantage throughout the playoffs.
The good news is that Paul George is close. The bad news is that he’ll miss at least the first two weeks of the regular season, perhaps more.