Paul George Playing Against Lakers

Paul George (bone edema) will play against the Lakers.

Paul George may be continuously dealing with his bone edema injury, but he'll be playing against the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday.

George returned to action against the Denver Nuggets, but it seemed pretty clear that he wasn't healthy. George missed three point-blank layups or dunks at the rim, and he evidently had no lift in his foot. After the game, George revealed that he couldn't bend his toe because of his bone edema and that he'd basically have to just manage the pain.

For an example of just how different he's been after being diagnosed with bone edema: 

Paul George before bone edema: 24.4 PPG, 66.2 TS%
Paul George after bone edema: 19.9 PPG, 53.6 TS%

The Clippers are in a very tricky position right now. The team is tied in the loss column with both the Lakers and Nuggets. A loss against the Lakers on Sunday would put them in the fourth seed. To be quite honest, it would be embarrassing for the Clippers to have a worse seed than the Lakers who have been playing without Anthony Davis since February, and who have been playing without both LeBron and Anthony Davis for a couple of weeks. In terms of seeding and morale, Sunday's game against the Lakers is a very must-win game for the Clippers.

It's been a 10 game sample size, but Paul George just hasn't been great while playing through his bone edema injury. If this trend continues, the Clippers will have a tough decision to make about resting him.

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