Clippers' Paul George expected to miss rest of regular season with knee sprain

The Clippers hoped this season would end with the unprecedented.

Those dreams of winning the franchise’s first NBA title are now flickering, but not extinguished, as the team faces a challenge that is all too familiar — a star player sidelined at a critical juncture.

All-Star forward Paul George will be re-evaluated in two to three weeks after spraining his right knee, the team announced Wednesday, a day after he went down late in a 101-100 loss to Oklahoma City at Crypto.com Arena.

Within the Clippers, the update was taken with a measure of optimism. Still, the timing means the Clippers will navigate the rest of the regular season — nine games remain — without George, who leads the team in scoring, assists and steals. And there is no guarantee he will be back for the postseason — assuming the Clippers reach it.

The regular season ends April 9. The play-in tournament featuring teams the finish seventh through 10th in the Western Conference begins within days. The first round of the playoffs is expected to begin the weekend of April 15.

“We still got a good coach, good team, so of course PG is a huge key for us,” forward Nicolas Batum said late Tuesday. “If we have to go through some time without him, we just have to go out there and win some games.”

George’s right knee hit Oklahoma City’s Luguentz Dort as the two battled for a rebound with 4 minutes 38 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, then buckled and bent backward. George stayed down on the court for several minutes.

As damaging as the loss was — it left the Clippers at 38-35 in fifth place in the West and gave Oklahoma City, which is only 1½ games behind, the season-series tiebreaker — the possibility of losing George had cast a pall over the team. The locker room nearly was deserted and the arena hallways almost silent.

George left the arena on the back of a cart, his right leg straightened as he rode, accompanied by a member of the Clippers’ medical staff. He exited minutes after coach Tyronn Lue had walked slowly toward the same exit, head down, while speaking with one of the team’s executives.

The team has been careful to manage George’s workload this season because of previous issues with his right knee, but as recently as March 8, he had declared himself much improved.

“I feel like I can do anything and everything I want to do,” George said.

George backed up the sentiment Tuesday against the Thunder by cutting toward the paint, collecting a pass and spinning 360 degrees for a highlight dunk. But less than a quarter later, George lay crumpled on the court.

Facing uncertainty Tuesday night while waiting for George to undergo testing, Batum and Kawhi Leonard pointed to the depth of the roster in case George would miss time.

Backup guard Norm Powell, who has not played since injuring his left shoulder March 2, is “is coming back pretty soon,” Batum said.

Backup forward Robert Covington, used rarely this season behind forwards Batum and Marcus Morris Sr. on the depth chart, could contribute three-point shooting and defense. Backup guard Eric Gordon could slide into the starting lineup, as he has done previously in place of a missing starter.

But with nine games remaining on a team with little lineup continuity, the Clippers will be forced to undergo another adjustment phase.

“We have to overcome it, you have to, especially for him,” Batum said. “We got to stay focused on who we have on the court. You know, we got good guys, great players anyway, so we’ve been there before. One team who has been there before, it’s us.”

Batum spoke from experience, having seen each of the last three seasons derailed by injuries.

In 2021, Leonard suffered a season-ending knee injury during a second-round playoff series against Utah. The Clippers won the series to advance to their first Western Conference finals, but lost to Phoenix after additional injuries to center Ivica Zubac and Morris.

Leonard missed the entire 2021-22 season because of his recovery as the Clippers entered a self-described “gap year,” circling 2022-23 as the season when their title pursuit would resume in earnest.

George started last season hot as the team’s No. 1 option only to miss more than three months because of a strained elbow ligament. He returned in late March and played six games but entered the NBA’s COVID-19 protocols the day of the team’s second and final play-in tournament game, which became a season-ending loss.

George earned his eighth All-Star selection this season, averaging 23.9 points, 6.1 rebounds and 5.1 assists and making 37% of his three-pointers. Since the All-Star break he had averaged 25.8 points, and 28.3 over his previous six games as the Clippers, buoyed by the improved health of both George and Leonard, went 5-1 to re-establish momentum.

Now, just as the Clippers had believed they were beginning to jell with midseason additions Russell Westbrook, Mason Plumlee and Gordon, another setback.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.