Clippers star Paul George will miss another few weeks

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The Clippers will extend star Paul George’s period of rest beyond the initial three to four weeks to see how the elbow responds, a source says. The seven-time All-Star has a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow.

Coach Tyronn Lue hedged when asked about George’s status on Monday, a couple of days after the three-week mark that the Clippers suggested as the earliest date he’d be evaluated again in their Christmas Day announcement that George had suffered the injury.

“Not anything we’re ready to discuss right now, so really no update,” Lue said before his team faced the Indiana Pacers on Monday afternoon at Crypto.com Arena.

On Dec. 25, the Clippers indicated then that their star – who was their focal point without fellow All-Star Kawhi Leonard, and was leading them in points (24.7), assists (5.5) and steals (2.0), and was second in rebounds (7.1 rebounds) through 26 games – would be re-evaluated in 3-4 weeks, “at which point next steps will be determined.”

“He’s still working out and rehabbing,” Lue said. “But that’s about it.”

George wasn’t even able to join his teammates at Sunday’s game, Lue said, staying away because a close contact had tested positive for COVID-19. George was, however, shown alongside Leonard on the scoreboard at the L.A. Rams’ playoff game against the Arizona Cardinals later Monday night at SoFi Stadium, along with a group that included Dodgers star Mookie Betts.

“He wants to be able to come to the game but I don’t think he can right now,” Lue said before Monday’s 139-133 victory, which put the Clippers’ record at 22-23 – and 8-11 without George. “(So he’s) just at home restless, not being around the team. He wants to be here, so we’re just trying to figure out a way to we can help him get into the building someway, but, like, we just trying to see. He’s just trying to figure it out, and kind of going from there.”

UCL tears are more common in baseball and often lead to Tommy John surgery and about a year’s worth of rehab and recovery, but the Clippers plan to wait and reevaluate again in a few weeks, per the source.

After George was injured during a win at Portland on Dec. 6, he missed five consecutive games with what was referred to as a sprained elbow on his right arm – his shooting arm. But he returned to action on Dec. 22 and played that night in a loss to San Antonio and then again two nights later in a win at Sacramento.

George wasn’t among the Clippers who addressed the media after that victory, but after his return against the Spurs, when he logged 30 minutes and scored 25 points, George said he “felt fine. Felt fine tonight,” adding “biggest thing was I didn’t exert myself. I just played within myself and let it flow.”

Asked whether the elbow injury might lead to him having to miss additional time, George said then that he didn’t know.

“I’m not sure. Not sure,” George said. “It took some hits today, couple stingers. We’ll see how it feels tomorrow, not sure it will be sore or not. See how it feels in the morning.”

Even injured, when the league announced its second batch of voting returns last week, George was fourth among Western Conference frontcourt players.

Leonard had surgery to repair a torn ACL in July and, according to Chris Haynes’ recent in-game report on TNT, “is actually ahead of schedule in his rehab,” a schedule the team has otherwise kept private. Haynes added that Leonard’s return this season “is a strong possibility.”

About that, Lue said only: “Optimism, but, I mean, I still don’t really know.”

According to spotrac.com, the Clippers have had players miss 213 games this season, the second-most in the NBA behind the Orlando Magic (287), but with Leonard and George sidelined, the Clippers’ players have earned a league-leading $37,612,339 while out.

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