The Los Angeles Clippers will be without star forward Paul George for Monday night's contest with the Utah Jazz, and perhaps beyond that. George is dealing with a hamstring strain and is set to be re-evaluated at some point in the coming days, according to The Athletic.
George suffered the injury during the Clippers' 119-97 win over the San Antonio Spurs. Prior to leaving the game, George was off to a strong start with 21 points in the first half. It's unclear exactly when the injury occurred, as he did not take the floor after halftime.
Save for one game against the Oklahoma City Thunder, which he missed due to a non-Covid illness, George had been healthy this season prior to this hamstring issue. He has dealt with a variety of problems over the past few seasons, however, playing just 133 games combined from 2019-22. That suggests that the team will be cautious with this latest ailment, even if the initial prognosis is that it's not serious.
The Clippers are on a mini two-game winning streak and have won eight of their last 11 games after a rough 2-4 start. Now 10-7 on the season and just 1.5 games out of first place in the Western Conference, it seems the Clippers have righted the ship. George's absence, for however long it lasts, along with a tough three-game stretch that features the Jazz, Golden State Warriors and Denver Nuggets, will make it difficult to keep this hot streak going.
George was averaging 23.6 points six rebounds and 4.3 assists through 16 games this season, while shooting 37.2 percent from 3-point land. Replacing his scoring and all-around play won't be easy, though the Clippers do have one of the deepest rosters in the league. To that point, it will help that Kawhi Leonard recently returned to the lineup after missing nearly a month with continued recovery from his ACL rehab.