OKC Thunder superstar Paul George took part fully in practice stating he’s ‘pain free’ which is great news for fans concerned he’d be healthy enough to play.
It is clear Paul George was not himself on Sunday night when the OKC Thunder lost game one to the Portland Trail Blazers 104-99.
While George did post a team high 26 points, his six made free throws contributed to that points mark as the all-star forward shot 26 percent from beyond the arc (four of fifteen) and 33 percent from the floor.
He got charged with six fouls but was able to grab four steals.
Anyone who watched last night knew he was really hurting. He was missing wide open threes, and while he was solid defensively, he was not his dominant self.
After the game, Paul George offered up to the media that he was not able to lift his arms up prior to last nights game since the Houston Rockets contest where he hit the game winner.
He mentioned since he could not lift his arms, the pre game shoot around was the first time since Tuesday he shot a basketball and just needed to get his timing down again.
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That would have been enough of an excuse for his poor play, and one that would fly. It was reasonable, understandable, and the truth. You can see, he was hurting, and at the very least he was out of a groove.
However, today he doubled down. After practice, he told the media he is “Pain free.”
And in this clip, he says “It is well enough now to throw out any injury problems.” he also mentioned that pain was not the reason for his play yesterday, as he did following the game, saying that it was just the fact that he had not played.
This is a huge development not only because he is supposedly healthy now, and the OKC Thunder desperately need him to be a force on the floor this season, but he has now taken away his crutch.
Billy Donovan also noted that both Paul George (shoulder) and Russell Westbrook (ankle) went through the team’s full practice today, although a light practice.
Westbrook tweaked his ankle in game one but finished out the game and this was our first update on him.
If this was just a media session for Paul George to be tough, and try to be the “no excuses” athlete that we all love, there are a ton of quotes he could have given that are not flatly “Pain free.”
While we can take his word at face value, watching him it sure doesn’t seem like he’s pain free. That said, I still wouldn’t bet against him performing much more effectively in Game 2.