Paul George Reportedly Likely to Miss Entire Clippers-Suns Series With Knee Injury

The Los Angeles Clippers are likely to be without Paul George for their entire first-round playoff matchup against the Phoenix Suns because of a knee injury, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported Sunday on NBA Countdown.

George is dealing with a sprained right knee and has not played since a March 21 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Wojnarowski's report comes after Clippers head coach Ty Lue said Friday the team will not bring George back "if he's not right."

"I've been feeling better ... been working my butt off, grinding literally every day," George said recently on his Podcast P with Paul George podcast, per ESPN. "Six days out of the week I'm training, doing rehab. I'm going to give it every chance I got, man. It's coming down to the wire."

Game 1 between the Clippers and Suns is slated for Sunday night, and L.A. faces a tough battle against a Phoenix squad that has yet to lose a game with Kevin Durant in the lineup, going 8-0 during the regular season.

George had an impressive 2022-23 season, averaging 23.8 points, 6.1 rebounds and 5.1 assists in 56 games while shooting 45.7 percent from the floor and 37.1 percent from deep en route to his eighth career All-Star selection.

With George sidelined, much of the team's scoring load will be placed on Kawhi Leonard, who had a solid 2022-23 campaign after missing the 2021-22 season with a torn ACL suffered in the 2021 playoffs.

Leonard averaged 23.8 points, 6.5 rebounds and 3.9 assists in 52 regular-season games while shooting 51.2 percent from the floor and 41.6 percent from deep.

In addition to Leonard, Russell Westbrook, Norman Powell and Eric Gordon will be called upon to step up this postseason.

If the Clippers make it past the Suns and reach the second round, it's unclear if George will be available.