PLAYA VISTA – Sure, the Clippers have lost four consecutive and seven of their past nine games.
It would have been hard to tell that from the energy before practice Thursday at Honey Training Center, where Paul George returned to practice for the first time since he was ruled out Dec. 25 with a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow.
Guard Reggie Jackson, typically upbeat, seemed especially so as he dapped up everyone within reach and shouted out everybody within earshot, eager, he said, to “get out here and love on each other and enjoy this game.”
Finally “each other” included his good pal, PG.
George’s return to practice was considered the next stage in his rehab, a team spokesman said, noting that his star’s status for Friday’s game against Philadelphia was unchanged: He remains out.
The Clippers – 36-38 overall and all but locked into the eighth seed and the play-in game against the seventh seed – are 22-26 this season without George. They have eight regular-season games remaining.
The Palmdale native was the Clippers’ focal point before his injury with fellow All-Star Kawhi Leonard having missed all of the season so far, rehabbing after July 13 surgery to repair a torn right anterior cruciate ligament.
George was leading the Clippers in points (24.7), assists (5.5) and steals (2.0), and was second in rebounds (7.1 rebounds) through 26 games.
“He is doing good,” Lue said in a chat with reporters before heading into the gym and gathering his players – including George, a basketball in each hand – around him to start practice.
“He hasn’t felt any pain so that is a positive thing. Just working on his conditioning and just making sure he can continue to go through the minimal contact without having any issue. So as of right now, it hasn’t been a problem.”
George began playing four-on-four with assistant coaches last weekend after gradually ramping up his basketball activities over the past few months.
Lue didn’t have an update on Leonard, but he noted that Norman Powell, who has missed the Clippers’ past 17 games since suffering a fractured medial sesamoid bone in his left foot, has been able to do non-contact shooting work this week. Powell hasn’t, however, been cleared for contact, Lue said.
The 28-year-old wing – acquired in a trade deadline deal that also brought Robert Covington to L.A. – played only three games for the Clippers and made a good first impression, averaging 21 points and four assists while shooting 47.6% overall.
“He was able to do some stuff on the court yesterday,” Lue said. “Nothing too serious, but he was on the court doing some things. Nothing that involves contact or anything like that, but he is on the floor a little bit, doing a little shooting.”
TNT’s Chris Haynes reported during Tuesday’s game in Denver that his sources told him Powell was “itching” to return and expected to get back on the court before the end of the regular season – a report Powell seemed to dispute Wednesday when he tweeted: “What sources? Is saying how I feel? It’s either from me or fake news. Chill with the sources talk. Smh.”
Lue cautioned that neither player will return until their participation is fully vetted by medical personnel.
“We just got to be smart, make sure we’re protecting the player and making sure we’re doing the right thing by them, that’s first and foremost,” Lue said. “When medical says we have an opportunity, then we will. If we don’t, we don’t.”
In the meantime, they’ll continue to focus on the necessary steps in their respective rehabs. Lue said he didn’t plan to give them film or playbooks to take home to study.
“Yeah. I mean, I don’t know how good that works, especially when you get into the 5-on-5 situations,” Lue said. “The game is so fast. They got to get reps, and that’s the most important thing.”
Those repetitions started, for George, Thursday.
76ers (45-27) at CLIPPERS (36-38)
When: 7:30 p.m. Friday
Where: Crypto.com Arena
TV/Radio: Bally Sports SoCal, NBA TV / 570 AM
Paul George in the mix as Clippers prepare to begin practice. pic.twitter.com/ADP8bk0hVn
— Mirjam Swanson (@MirjamSwanson) March 24, 2022
What sources? Is saying how I feel? It’s either from me or fake news. Chill with the sources talk. Smh https://t.co/hk5lDEZADb
— norman powell (@npowell2404) March 23, 2022
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