Paul George on Restarting Season: 'We're going to pick up where we left off'

LA Clippers star Paul George says the NBA suspension was frustrating, but ultimately believes it'll pay off for his team.

The NBA suspension couldn't have come at a worse time for the LA Clippers. In the few weeks that came after the trade deadline, the team looked as good as it had all season long — and the players know it too.

LA rattled off big wins against teams like the Denver Nuggets, Philadelphia 76ers, Houston Rockets and Oklahoma City Thunder, sometimes by as many as 29 points.

Clippers star Paul George admits that it was frustrating to have to stop during that stretch, but ultimately, he believes the break has made the team better.

"We played ourselves into that chemistry, into that zone we were in," George said on Saturday morning's Zoom call. "You know, that was really the team coming together. We added Reggie [Jackson], we added Marcus [Morris], and we were starting to mold and shape and learn each other. It was tough to take this little break.

"But I think ultimately it's going to pay off... we were one of the teams that could have benefitted off of the healing process and coming together healthy. This break did wonders for this group, and we're going to pick up where we left off at."

It'll be easier said than done for the Clippers to pick up from where they were as a group in March, but it's certainly possible.

One big thing that could improve thanks to the break is the team's chemistry and continuity. LA only played a handful of games this season with a fully healthy roster — most of which came after the All-Star break — and the de-facto training camp the team is involved in right now should only help the players become more familiar with each other.

The break also did a lot for George on a personal level. Multiple shoulder surgeries last summer forced him to miss the first 11 games of the regular season, and up until about a month ago, he was still in the rehabilitation stage. 

Now that George has fully recovered, Clippers fans can expect him to more closely resemble the player he was for Oklahoma City in 2019 when he finished third in MVP voting and averaged a career-high 28.0 points per game. 

The Clippers will play their first game in over four months next week, when they'll scrimmage with the Orlando Magic on July 22. LA will play two more scrimmage games on July 25 and 27 before taking on the Los Angeles Lakers to begin the restarted season on July 30. 


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Garrett Chorpenning
GARRETT CHORPENNING