LA Clippers: Paul George gives shoulder update nearing restart

Paul George has battled through shoulder rehabilitation this season, but he delivered a welcoming update as the LA Clippers prepare to restart play.

Health has been the most significant question mark looming over the LA Clippers for the entirety of the 2019-20 season, and star forward Paul George recently gave an update on his current status. Over a year after undergoing surgery to repair both of his shoulders, George shared in a conference call Friday that he is no longer hindered by his “insecurities” regarding the rehabilitation process — Via the Los Angeles Times:

“The whole season, all the way up until maybe a month or two ago, I had to always do shoulder rehab stuff, warming the shoulder up,” George said Friday. “Just so much stuff went into stuff I had to do before I actually took a foot on the floor. Now I feel great again.”

“I feel great going on the court, shooting, doing regular things. Just confident in that – feeling back to myself again.”

The near four-month layoff benefited no team more than the LA Clippers because of how injury-plagued they were throughout the season, as seen with George.

When at full strength, the team is so loaded with widespread talent that they were nearly unbeatable. However, it was such a rare occurrence to see everyone on the court that they were difficult to assess as a unit regarding their true potential. Many justifiably believe this team is a championship contender as is, but if fully healthy, they could be the unquestioned favorites.

While battling through a plethora of injuries this season, they still managed to make their way into the Western Conference’s No. 2 seed, 5.5 games back of the rivaling Los Angeles Lakers when the season halted. With all of this time off to recuperate from injuries, the Clippers could be preparing to make a run straight out of the gates, specifically George.

George undoubtedly went through the most adversity on the team, as his shoulders plagued him consistently, forcing him in and out of the lineup as part of a load management program. The forward missed the first month of the season but still put together a solid season in the 42 games he played in.

The 30-year-old averaged 21.0 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 3.9 assists per game, somewhat below what many expected. George’s stats may have regressed compared to last season when he was a top-three MVP candidate as a member of the Oklahoma City Thunder. Trying to retain that same success immediately after surgery on both shoulders was no easy task. Not to mention that the forward found himself in a far different form of scenery than ever before in his career.

The six-time All-Star is currently surrounded by the most talent in his career, most notably the reigning Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard. George played a minimized role in LA compared to prior seasons, where he was typically the go-to option on his teams, but he was still an essential piece for the LA Clippers.

With their championship aspirations through the roof, a healthy Paul George will be critical to LA’s success as the season restarts at the end of July. Such a long hiatus gave the forward the necessary time to heal and set the stage for George to succeed.

If George was performing at a high level as he was while battling the nagging shoulders, seeing what he will do without that lingering issue could be frightening for the rest of the league.

The LA Clippers will restart the season with a bang as they take on the Lakers on July 30th. With Paul George and the rest of the team back to full strength, keep an eye on them in the coming months.