LA Clippers star Paul George looked terrific in the team's scrimmages. Here's why he should continue to perform at that level in the Playoffs.
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00:00After an up-and-down season that was still pretty great for what it's worth,
00:03Paul George is looking like his old self again. The LA Clippers star looked
00:07terrific in all three of his team's scrimmage games, taking jumpers from all
00:11over the floor, attacking the paint, and playing swift physical defense. In those
00:15games, George averaged 16 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 3 assists in about 24
00:20minutes per contest. He got 24 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 4.5 assists per 36 minutes,
00:26which are impressive figures to post considering he's hardly played
00:28basketball in the last four months. Those numbers don't tell the entire story,
00:32though, as George has also been shooting the ball at a highly efficient rate.
00:35Overall, George has gone 15 to 33 from the field, or a 45.5 per second conversion
00:41rate, 8 of 11 with charity strike, or a 72%, which is a bit lower than his
00:45percentage of the season, and 10 of 19 three-point range, or a 52.6 percent
00:50conversion rate, which boils down to a true shooting percentage of 63.4%,
00:54which is more than five points higher than what he posted during his MVP
00:57caliber season with Oklahoma City Thunder in 2019. It's an extremely small
01:02sample size, and the efforts from all teams involved in these scrimmages could
01:05be considered questionable at times, but the point still stands that George
01:09looked visibly fresh in the time of his first possession and on. It's no surprise
01:13he played as well as the other either. He's talked about several times. For the first
01:16time all year, George is finally completely healthy. He's now fully
01:19recovered from the multiple shoulder surgeries that he underwent last summer, and he's
01:23finished the rehabilitation process as well. Finally, Clippers fans are catching
01:27a glimpse at what George can really do for the team. That's exactly the reason
01:31why we should expect him to slow down any time as well. Throughout these games,
01:34George has looked increasingly competent in his shot and his body. He's shown
01:38terrific chemistry with his teammates, delivering passes with pinpoint accuracy
01:42and guided into their spots. He's looked like one of the very best players in
01:46basketball, which is what he is when he's at his peak. Time will tell if George can
01:50sustain this level of play throughout the seeding games and playoffs, but for
01:54now Clippers fans should be very encouraged by what they've seen from the
01:57former All-Star Paul George.