Paul George finally got clearance to make his debut for the Los Angeles Clippers, and he’s looking like he was worth the wait.
On a night where Kawhi Leonard was load managed, thanks to the game being the second of a back-to-back, George carried the scoring load for the Clippers in the first half. With 9:36 left in the second quarter, George had outscored the rest of his starting teammates combined.
The New Orleans Pelicans were undeterred in the first half, though. They went on an 14-1 run to retake the lead by 7 points, after the Clippers went up by 7. This lead eventually went to 14 thanks to Jrue Holiday catching fire from beyond the arc and a scoring drought that’s becoming more commonplace for the Clippers.
Holiday finished the first half with 24 points and led the Pelicans to a 72-59 halftime lead.
George found himself in early foul trouble, getting whistle for his fourth foul with more than three minutes left in the second quarter.
The Pelicans’ defense did a terrible job in the third quarter. They let the Clippers back in with a balanced offense that cut the lead to two points with around six minutes left. They finally retook the lead with 3:30 left in the third quarter thanks to Lou Williams. George picked up his fifth foul with 48.7 seconds left in the third, too.
Jrue Holiday’s offense was completely absent in the third, which greatly contributed to the Clippers’ surge. The Pelicans were outscored 38-24 in the third quarter.
The fourth quarter did not go to plan for the Clippers. They gave up way too many points.
Holiday came back strong and scored key buckets and was a nuisance on defense. He put up 11 points and helped his team take a 122-116 lead with two minutes left. Holiday’s furious finish was backed up by a monster game from Derrick Favors, who had 20 points and 20 rebounds. Frank Jackson also had 23 points, while JJ Redick put up 19 in the 132-127 victory.
While the story of the day is PG-13’s return in a loss, the rest of the Clippers team deserves a mention even in defeat.
Montrezl Harrell had yet another disruptive game, putting up 18 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks. Rodney McGruder also had a great game from the bench with 20 points after averaging 1 PPG for the season. Lou Williams, as usual, put up 31 points in a rare start.
The Clippers are still a work in progress. Like the Toronto Raptors earlier this week, the Pelicans pushed them to the limit while missing a big chunk of their key rotation players, including Brandon Ingram.
Paul George shows the Clippers what they’re missing
George had a great debut, putting up 33 points, 9 rebounds, and 4 assists. He also did this efficiently on 10 of 17 shooting (along with a perfect 10-10 from the line) and produced these stats in only 24 minutes on the floor.
He’s an elite defender, but as evidenced by his fouls today, he may need some time to get into the groove of things and fit well within Doc Rivers’ defensive schemes. There’s no doubt that he’ll be able to figure it out, especially once his star partner is also on the wing to terrorize opposing wing players.
The Clippers will need all they can get from George, as they have shown a fair bit of vulnerability even when Kawhi plays. Their 102-93 loss to the Rockets put an exclamation point on this.
George made a few key mistakes down the stretch, too. George got stripped a couple of times in key possessions as well. He cut the lead to three with less than a minute to play but was quickly answered.
One game is a small sample size, of course, but it’s a great sign. The Clippers may become an unguardable team once Leonard and George regularly take the ball. Finding a way to contain the two stars is going to be hard enough, and opponents still must contend with an elite scorer in Lou Williams, plus Hurricane Harrell.
For the Clippers, it’s great to have George available. He and Kawhi will be able to rotate load management throughout the season during back-to-back games. But let’s be clear: consistent load management is going to be a dangerous gambit for the Clippers. The Western Conference is so competitive this season that every single victory counts, not just for playoff seeding, but just to make the postseason. They can’t afford to let too many losses sneak into their record.
The reason that the Lakers are currently leading the West is the fact that LeBron James and Anthony Davis are playing in as many games as possible together. We’ll see if the Clippers follow suit.
Other results
Bucks def. Bulls 124-115, Knicks def. Mavs 106-103, Heat def. Cavs 108-97, Suns def. Hawks 128-112,
