Ohm YoungmisukESPN Staff Writer3:10pm ET2 Minute Read
LA Clippers All-Star Guard Paul George will be absent for at least the next two weeks with a sprained right knee, the team announced Wednesday.
George will be reevaluated in two to three weeks and is expected to miss the remaining nine regular-season games the Clippers have left. George’s timeline for a potential playoff return will become clearer once he’s reassessed, sources have told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
The Clippers guard was injured after an unfortunate landing in Tuesday night’s fourth quarter of the Clippers’ 101-100 loss following a clash with Oklahoma City’s Lu Dort.
George’s right knee seemed to bend backwards and he needed help to walk off the pitch after a few minutes on the ground. George was later carried into the dressing room by two staff members in the tunnel.
The all-star guard exited the Crypto.com Arena late Tuesday night in the back of a cart with his right leg outstretched. On the way out he nodded.
The Clippers and George had started playing some of their best basketball games since acquiring several new players including Russell Westbrook, Eric Gordon and Mason Plumlee in February. They’ve won five of six games played against Oklahoma City on Tuesday night and George has been feeling healthier after dealing with a right knee problem.
Looking as explosive as he has all season, George threw two highlight dunks, including a spectacular spinning dunk on the baseline in the third quarter.
The All-Star Guardian injured his knee with 4:38 left. Several staff, executives and players look very worried after the loss. In August 2014, George suffered a horrific tibia-fibula fracture to his right lower leg when his leg landed at the foot of a basket support and buckled during a US national team intrasquad scrum.
The Clippers play a home game against Oklahoma City on Thursday. With nine games remaining in the regular season, the Clippers will be looking to stay in the top six in the Western Conference playoff standings and get out of the play-in.
However, the Clippers have two straight sets of games left and Kawhi Leonard has been sidelined for two consecutive games as part of the team’s health plan for the franchise forward.
“Next man’s turn,” Leonard said Tuesday night when asked if George had to miss time. “We’ll see. We have a group of guys who still want to win, who like to play basketball, so we’ll see what happens.”
The Clippers could get help soon as Norman Powell recovers from a left shoulder subluxation injury. He has missed eight games in a row but has been training.
“We have players and Norm will be back pretty soon,” said striker Nic Batum on Tuesday night. “Of course we miss our team-mate, [but] We still have a good coach, a good team. Of course, PG is a big key for us. If we have to go without him for some time, we just have to go out there and win a few games.”