LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles Clippers star Paul George will miss a do-or-die play-in game against the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday after entering the NBA’s coronavirus health and safety protocols.
George, who missed three months with an elbow injury earlier this season, returned in late March in hopes of leading a postseason push. The seven-time all-star scored a game-high 34 points in the Clippers’ 109-104 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves in their first play-in game on Tuesday. Clippers President Lawrence Frank said that George was symptomatic Thursday and that his coronavirus test returned a positive result Friday.
As the Western Conference’s eighth-place team, the Clippers opened the play-in tournament on the road against the seventh-place Timberwolves but will host the ninth-place Pelicans at Crypto.com Arena. New Orleans defeated the 10th-place San Antonio Spurs, 113-103, on Wednesday in their first play-in game. The winner of the final play-in between the Clippers and Pelicans will claim the West’s eighth seed and face the top-seeded Phoenix Suns in the first round of the playoffs.
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George’s absence represents a significant and unexpected challenge for the Clippers, who have been without all-star Kawhi Leonard all season as he recovers from a knee injury. The 31-year-old George led the Clippers to their first Western Conference finals appearance last year, and he averaged a team-high 24.3 points, 6.9 rebounds and 5.7 assists this season. His impact on winning was clear this season: The Clippers were 18-13 with George in the lineup, and 24-27 without him. Los Angeles is vying to make the playoffs for the 10th time in the past 11 seasons.
The Clippers announced before the 2021-22 season that their entire roster was vaccinated to ensure compliance with California’s local mandates. Per the NBA’s current protocols, vaccinated players aren’t tested regularly unless they report symptoms.
Suns guard Chris Paul was the only star to enter health and safety protocols during the 2021 postseason. Even before George’s entry into protocols, there has been increased concern in league circles about the possibility of players testing positive during the upcoming postseason, given rising coronavirus case counts attributed to the BA.2 subvariant of omicron. The 2022 playoffs start Saturday.
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