Injured Indiana Pacers star Paul George still isn't ready to return to the court, and the man himself doesn't know when that time will be, according to Indy Cornrows.
Paul George still doesn’t know when he’ll return
Pacers president Larry Bird still expects George to return this season, but all parties want to make sure the star swingman is as close to 100 percent as possible before coming back, and he doesn’t know when that’ll be.
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“I still don’t know when my return date will be,” admitted George. “I wanted it to be March 14, but that obviously didn’t happen.”
George told Yahoo! Sports’ Marc Spears in mid-February that he was gunning for that March 14 return, which set up some of the hype surrounding his potential comeback this season. Then, last Friday, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst reported that George would be back within a week and possibly even as early as last Saturday.
That report hasn’t come to fruition yet, and George said Monday he didn’t know where it came from. He admitted all the buzz surrounding his return has gotten “annoying,” although he’s partially to blame for setting such an optimistic timetable.
It doesn't help that the Pacers are floundering after an excellent February and strong start to March. Indiana has lost six games in a row and fallen to 30-40 on the year, a game behind the Boston Celtics for the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference. The Pacers have been poor offensively during this stretch and their normally stout defense has been performing at league-worst levels. George acknowledged that the buzz around him "is definitely taking a toll on everybody."
George, provided he’s 100 percent and could quickly shake off the rust, would help some of the issues on the court. But he and the Pacers don’t want to push it if he’s not comfortable returning, and he clearly isn’t at that point yet, according to ESPN’s Mike Mazzeo:
“We want to make sure I’m as close to 100 [percent] as possible,” George said. “It’s not coming down to you know, ‘Paul’s feeling good, let’s get him out there.’ It’s about making sure everything’s where I’m comfortable, where the medical staff is comfortable, where the front office is comfortable.”
Even with the current uncertainty surrounding George’s return, there’s still a general belief that he’ll come back this season. Pacers president Larry Bird said he expects George to play this year and that he has been cleared by doctors to return, but it’s a matter of conditioning right now:
“He’s getting a lot better,” Bird said. “I think he has to go through a series of tests this week, just like we’ve always been doing to see where he’s at. I think he’s cleared by the doctors to play, but obviously he’s not in shape. Just because he’s cleared to play, doesn’t mean he’s in shape to play. And I don’t want Paul to go out there until he feels comfortable with his conditioning and the way he’s practicing. I’d like to see him do a little bit better.
”It was a rough go at the beginning, which we knew it was going to be. He (isn’t) going to be Paul George, 100 percent. We know that. But I think mentally he wants to get out there, play a few games and get ready to see what he needs to do this summer to get back to 100 percent -- and he will.
“I expect him to play this year. I hope he does for his own good -- not for us to get in the playoffs or anything like that, but just for his own mental state. I think anytime you go through an injury like that, you have to get back out there and prove yourself. But he’s not going to be 100 percent.”
Pacers head coach Frank Vogel, for his part, disputed Bird’s notion that George has been cleared by the Pacers’ medical staff.
Whatever happened, it’s clear that George isn’t ready to return to the court, so the wait continues.
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