Paul George Says He Was 'Terrible' in Clippers Debut Despite Scoring 33 Points

Los Angeles Clippers forward Paul George has a high personal standard based on his postgame comments Thursday following his 33-point effort against the New Orleans Pelicans.

"I thought I was terrible," George told Andrew Greif of the Los Angeles Times and other reporters.

"I got a lot to get back to just from my performance, my defense and just for the flow of the game and then just, I haven't had any time to get a feel for this speed in a long time. It's just good to get this one under my belt."

The 29-year-old forward joined the Clippers after L.A. landed him in a sign-and-trade with the Oklahoma City Thunder this offseason. However, he didn't make his season debut until Thursday, sitting his team's first 11 games while recovering from shoulder surgeries.

But you wouldn't have known that based on his performance, as George dropped 33 points on 10-of-17 shooting (10-of-10 from the free-throw line) in just 24 minutes.

He was simply exceptional offensively, although the Clips defense struggled in the 132-127 loss to a short-handed Pels team missing Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball and Josh Hart.

In fairness, the Clippers were playing on a back-to-back set after facing the host Houston Rockets the night before.

Playing the second game of a back-to-back on the road is never easy, and the Clips did so without the services of defensive mavens Kawhi Leonard and Patrick Beverley against New Orleans.

Plus, the Clippers were forced to defend the NBA's leading scorer in James Harden on Wednesday before facing a Pels team ranked third in pace Thursday, per NBA.com.

That's not an easy task, and returning to the mix after missing 11 games is a challenge in itself for George. Any issues on that end should get a pass.

The six-time All-Star also noted Thursday felt like his "first preseason game," per Greif. On the plus side, George said his shoulders felt good despite contact he took during the Pels matchup.

George and Leonard, who signed with L.A. this offseason via free agency, will finally take the court together for the first time as Clippers teammates on Saturday at home against the Atlanta Hawks.