LA Clippers’ Paul George is making progress towards return

Paul George isn’t ready to make his LA Clippers debut just yet, but it sounds as though the six-time All-Star is making some real progress.

The LA Clippers stand at 5-2 through the first seven games of their season, with quality wins over some of the Western Conference’s best in the Los Angeles Lakers, San Antonio Spurs and Utah Jazz. That’s all without Paul George, who can bring this team to another level once he makes his return sometime this month.

Based on recent reports, it sounds like he’ll be making his Clippers debut sooner rather than later, too.

According to The Athletic’s Jovan Buha, George played 3-on-3 in practice over the weekend. It was the first time it’s been reported that he participated in that kind of action, which is certainly a good sign regarding his progression.

The belief coming into the season was that George would miss roughly 10 games, meaning LA’s road meeting with the Houston Rockets on November 13 would be his first potential return date.

Even if George makes his return there though, fans shouldn’t expect to see him playing in consecutive games right away. The Clippers’ next game is the following day in New Orleans, and it seems likely that LA would consider resting him for one of the two games. Rushing him into action after such a long recovery period isn’t a smart move.

That said, the Clippers could also keep George out for both games of the road back-to-back, which would make November 16 his first game of the season — a home game against the Atlanta Hawks that’s also the beginning of five-game homestand.

George likely has one of those five games circled, too, as the Clippers host the Oklahoma City Thunder on the 18th. It would be special if he could play without a minutes restriction against his former team.

Even if George’s recovery takes longer than we first expected, there’s no need to fret. The Clippers have lived up to the hype early on, and with Kawhi Leonard playing like the league’s best player, there’s no need to rush him onto the floor — especially since winning a title is a realistic goal this season.

So far, George’s co-star has averaged 29.3 points, 7.3 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 2.3 steals per game, all of which are career-high marks.

Once George does make his return, expect him to fit comfortably into the starting rotation and make huge contributions for the LA Clippers on both ends of the floor.