Paul George’s return got spoiled

The much-awaited season debut of Paul George ended in defeat Friday. He appears off from the shackles of his shoulder injury as he logged in team-highs 33 points and nine rebounds in just 24 minutes of action.

He and the LA Clippers struggled containing the New Orleans Pelicans’ offense, though, and went home with a 132-127, loss. With the defeat, the Clipps are now 7-5 on the season and losers of two straight.

Kawhi and PG on the floor?

Sunday’s meeting with the Atlanta Hawks could be the first time we’ll witness the Kawhi Leonard-Paul George tandem. Both are healthy and rested enough heading into the game and the Clippers badly need to get some wins going.

Kawhi and PG will have the scoring help of Lou Williams. Kawhi leads the Clippers in points per game at 26.8, but with his load management, it’s Williams who paces the team in overall scoring – 274 points in 12 games for 22.8 PPG.

The Hawks are all Trae Young and Jabari Parker

The 4-7 Hawks enter the contest having lost four of their last five, with each of those losses coming in double digits. The core is still growing and much of the team’s issues are due to inexperience and a thin depth, as they are the youngest team in the league and have been dealing with the 25-game suspension of their key starting forward, John Collins.

With Collins out, Trae Young is continuing to emerge and produce healthy stats. He’s currently top eight in points (27.3), assists (9.1), and threes per game (3.8), and has dished double-digit dimes in his last four. We should see him have an exciting clash with the Clippers’ pesky guard, Patrick Beverley.

Jabari Parker, a second-overall pick turned journeyman, who’s filling in the position left open by Collins, is also benefitting from the absence. He’s been climbing out of obscurity by posting averages of 22.2 points on 55%-shooting since being inserted in the starting line-up. Like Young, he’ll be in for an exciting match-up, particularly with Leonard, George, and the rest of the Clippers swingmen.

PREDICTION:

The Clippers show urgency and get a much-needed win.

Look out for that Trae Young-Patrick Beverley match-up, though. Both like to get in the opposition’s face, so expect the two to get into it at some point.