LOS ANGELES — The Clippers hoped this season would end with the unprecedented.
Those dreams of winning the franchise's first NBA title seemed in jeopardy, however, because the team faces a reality that is all-too-familiar — a star player sidelined at a critical juncture.
The Clippers and Paul George appear to have dodged the worst-case scenario with his right knee injury, however. The team says that imaging determined that the All-Star forward suffered a sprained right knee and he will be re-evaluated in 2-3 weeks.
George's right knee buckled, bending backward, after he landed with a defensive rebound with 4 minutes, 38 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter of Tuesday's 101-100 loss to Oklahoma City at Crypto.com Arena.
As damaging as the loss was — it left the Clippers' record at 38-35 for fifth place in the Western Conference but gave Oklahoma City, which is only 1 1/2 games behind, the season-series tiebreaker — the possibility of losing George had cast a pall over the team, afterward, the locker room deserted and the arena hallways nearly silent.
George left the arena on the back of a cart, his right leg straightened as he rode, accompanied by a member of the Clippers medical staff. He exited minutes after coach Tyronn Lue slowly had walked toward the same exit, his head down, while speaking with one of the team's executives.
"I really hope he's OK," forward Nicolas Batum said late Tuesday, as the team remained unclear about the extend of the injury. "That's my main concern right now."
The team had been careful to manage his workload at times earlier in the season because of previous, unspecified issues with the knee, but as recently as March 8 George had declared himself much improved.
"I feel like I can do anything and everything I want to do," George had said then.
Now the situation has changed drastically. In the face of uncertainty Tuesday night while waiting for George to undergo testing, Batum and star Kawhi Leonard pointed to the depth of the roster in case George would need to miss time.
Backup guard Norman Powell, who has not played since injuring his left shoulder March 2, is "is coming back pretty soon," Batum said. Backup forward Robert Covington, used rarely this season behind forwards Batum and Marcus Morris Sr. on the depth chart, could fill some of the 3-point and defense void.
But only nine games remain in the regular season and a team with little lineup continuity will be forced to undergo another adjustment phase.
"We have to overcome it, you have to, especially for him," Batum said. "We got to stay focused on who we have on the court. You know, we got good guys, great players anyway, so we've been there before. One team who has been there before it's us."
Batum spoke from experience, having seen each of the last three seasons derailed by injuries.
In 2021, Leonard suffered a season-ending partial tear of the anterior cruciate ligament in a knee during a second-round playoff series against Utah. The Clippers won the series to advance to the franchise's first Western Conference finals, but lost to Phoenix after additional injuries to center Ivica Zubac and forward Marcus Morris Sr. deepened the roster attrition.
As Leonard missed the entire 2021-22 season because of his recovery, George started hot as the team's No. 1 option — only to suffer a strained elbow ligament that sidelined him for three months. George returned in late March and played six games, but entered the NBA's COVID-19 protocols the day of the team's second and final play-in tournament game, which became a season-ending loss.
Now, just as the Clippers had begun to find their stride having won five of their last six games entering Tuesday, the roster and its midseason additions Russell Westbrook, Mason Plumlee and Eric Gordon beginning to jell ... another significant setback.
"We got a group of guys that still want to win, that like to play basketball, so we'll see what happens," Leonard said Tuesday.
George earned his eighth All-Star selection this season while averaging 23.9 points, with 6.1 rebounds and 5.1 assists, while making 37% of his 3-pointers. Since the mid-February All-Star break he had averaged 25.8 points, and 28.3 over his last six games as the Clippers, buoyed by the improved health of George and Leonard, went 5-1 to re-establish momentum as a potential title contender.
"We still got a good coach, good team, so of course PG is a huge key for us," Batum said. "If we have to go through some time without him, we just have to go out there and win some games."
