PAUL GEORGE DESCRIBED his Los Angeles Clippers debut as “terrible” despite earning a rave review from Doc Rivers for his 33-point effort.
George played for the first time as a Clipper following his July trade from the Oklahoma City Thunder, having undergone off-season shoulder surgeries.
The six-time All-Star went 10 for 17 from the field and three for five from three-point range to lead all scorers for the Clippers but could not prevent them falling to a 132-127 defeat at the Smoothie King Center.
Clippers coach Rivers described George’s display as “sensational”. However, the former Indiana Pacers star was less impressed with his own showing, particularly on the defensive end.
I thought I was terrible, I’ve got a lot to get back to, just from my performance, my defense, just for the flow of the game,” George told reporters.
“I haven’t had a lot of time just getting a feel for this speed. It’s good to get this one under my belt, this was essentially like my first preseason game.
“It’s the best my shoulder’s felt in a really long time, I knew coming into tonight shooting wouldn’t be a problem.
“A lot of the [defensive] breakdowns happened just because of my lack of being out there with those guys, communication, a lot of those breakdowns were basically on me, I look forward to watching the film and learning from that.
“We’ll move forward, we’ll learn and we’ll start to get our chemistry down.”
Kawhi Leonard did not feature against New Orleans as part of his well-documented load management, while Patrick Beverley was also missing because of a calf issue.
George will team up with Leonard when the Clippers face the Atlanta Hawks at the Staples Center on Saturday.
“I’m excited for this whole team together, play with Pat [Beverley], with Kawhi,” George added. ”I’m looking forward to this team being at full strength.”
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…someone please put up a clip of Ryan Bairds tackle on Michael Lowry…..a thing of beauty…. and you have to have played the game to appreciate how truly exceptional it was.
@Michael Murray: Couldn’t agree more!
I saw Josh’s face in the ruck where he got hurt. Didn’t think it looked good from his reaction. A big loss to any team, except maybe Leinster.. Penny comes in and Connors comes onto the bench. Ridiculous strength in depth.
@John Thomas: Connors won’t be on the bench with Doris back.
@John Thomas: Yeh… thought the same, also why did he play on?! We were well ahead and had Penny on the bench, VDF absolutely crucial for CC and URC knockout games
As long as Joy Neville isn’t TMO again it should be a good spectacle.
Poor performance, RB exposed again soon as forward dominance is gone and he has no space he is nullified. Furlong also has never been the same player since the back injury few seasons ago, just toddles into contact no gain line anymore. Baird might be a difference and if Jenkins can have a few big games but still fear Toulouse and La Rochelle.
@Liam Kelly: …
Not being pedantic but 2 RBs in squad…specifics will help those for whom the squad players are not household names.
@Liam Kelly: RB = Rob Balacoune?!?
@Liam Kelly: Yeap, that game did no favours at all for Balacoune’s World Cup selection.
@Dave Murray: I think that Balacoune had already blown his chance on the international stage- he just doesn’t seem to have the natural game awareness necessary for Ireland’s system. I am guessing that ‘game awareness’ is a major qualification for this a Ireland team – skill set and strength etc being a given – it is clearly a common attribute of the rising stars Keenan, Doris, Hansen, Sheehan and Gibson-Park.