LOS ANGELES, California – Flashback: During a game on March 21 against the Oklahoma City Thunder, George suffered a knee injury. He won’t be playing when the fourth-seeded Phoenix Suns and the fifth-seeded Los Angeles Clippers begin their first-round playoff series.

Tyronn Lue, coach of the Clippers, told reporters on Friday, “We’re obviously not going to do anything to damage PG. We won’t let him go, even if he tries to return and is not well, since we don’t want him to hurt himself and make the situation worse than it already is.

“We’ll make sure he’s nearly 100% when he returns and can’t hurt himself any further,” said the doctor.

George was working hard and hitting 3-pointers at the Clippers’ practice facility, but the team hasn’t yet provided a timeframe for his comeback. George is still missing from today’s practice.

Given Phoenix’s small forward and four-time NBA scoring champion Kevin Durant, Los Angeles would love to eventually have George in the best-of-seven series against the Suns.

Lue remarked that it was uplifting to see George make 3-pointers. The brutal hit he received was really bad. believed that it may have been far worse. It’s encouraging to see him doing some things and genuinely feeling better because you don’t want to see your teammates get harmed or injured, and it could have been much worse than it was.

George played in 56 games this season, scoring 23.8 points, pulling down 6.1 rebounds, and dishing out 5.1 assists.

Kawhi Leonard, the NBA Finals MVP twice over, will be playing for Los Angeles at least. After tearing his right ACL during a playoff game against the Utah Jazz, Leonard will participate in his first postseason game in 22 months.

Leonard stated that the Clippers shouldn’t be concerned that George won’t start the season opener.

Leonard referred to George as “out.” But we still have other team members that can contribute. The game is basically no different from any other. Another basketball game is underway. There is now only a title on it. You have an opportunity to help a team achieve its ultimate objective. That’s just the level of emphasis, really.

“It hasn’t just begun now. Trying to play both ends has been a constant throughout the year and throughout my playing career. Hopefully, there will be some carryover.