Paul George has become something of an easy social-media punching bag over the years, but let Tuesday night’s performance serve as a loud reminder that this guy, at worst, is one of the 10-15 best players on the planet when he’s healthy.
He hasn’t been healthy in a long while, of course. George has missed the last three-plus months with a torn UCL in his right elbow. George returned against the Utah Jazz on Tuesday to the tune of 34 points, six assists and five steals on 10-of-20 shooting, including 6-of-9 from 3, as the Clippers rallied from a 25-point deficit to earn a 121-115 victory.
The Clippers have made a dangerous habit of digging double-digit holes this season, but no team is better at overcoming deficits to still come out victorious. This is the 12th time the Clippers have come back from at least 13 down to win this season and the fourth time they’ve rallied by at least 24 down to win. Both those marks lead the league.
And it’s not like the Clippers trailed by 25 early in the game on Tuesday. They were down 76-51 with under eight minutes to play in the third quarter. After that, George, who scored 20 of his 34 points in that third quarter, proceeded to spearhead a 32-12 run — the Clippers ended the game on a 22-6 run, and it was a George drive-and-kick assist for a Luka Kennard 3 that finally got them over the hump.
That’s what a superstar does for an offense; George completely blew up Utah’s point-of-attack defense, turning the corner to get downhill before Royce O’Neal could bat an eye. From there, the defense collpases onto George, who kicks out to a great 3-point shooter, and Luke Kennard does the rest.
The Clippers have been a solid team all season despite Kawhi Leonard not playing a single game and George playing in just 27 of them. They’ve stayed afloat with defense for the most part, but at some point you have to be able to consistently create half-court offense.
In that regard, George changes everything for the Clippers, who are pretty firmly planted in the No. 8 seed. If they can get out of the play-in, this is not a team that, say, the No. 2 Memphis Grizzlies would want to face in the first round. Now just imagine if the Clippers somehow get Kawhi back, too.
