When is Paul George returning?
That’s the big question, and the one I get asked frequently via text and Twitter, more so than usual this last week. On Monday, President Larry Bird, coach Frank Vogel, and Paul George himself all spoke to the media.
All three stuck to the company line and did not provide a timetable, though within the next week seems likely. Paul said he is nearing 100 percent and still hopes to play this season.
Larry Bird spoke to ESPN.com and reiterated that he expects his star player to take the floor this season to get at least few games under his belt.
“He’s getting a lot better,” said Bird. “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.”
George had surgery to repair a compound fracture in his right leg nearly eight months ago, on August 1st.
While Bird says George has been medically cleared, Vogel was unwilling to go that far. During his pregame availability, 100 minutes before Monday’s game, Vogel was asked when George was cleared.
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Four seconds later he responded: “There’s a lot of layers to that. He hasn’t been cleared to play for us.”
But Larry…
“Cleared to participate in practice, yes,” he continued.
“Well, that’s what Larry said. Like I said, there’s a lot of layers to it. He’s not ready … he hasn’t reached our level of what we feel he’s ready to play.”
There are 12 more dates left in the regular season where George could return. What I’ve heard from those at practices say George is steadily improving, but still isn’t quite ready. One more week to improve his conditioning and get in the right frame of mind will be good for him.
Through all of this talk of a return, particularly in the last week, coach Vogel does not believe it’s annoyed or distracted the team.
“Maybe it’s in the back of our guys’ minds, but I really don’t think so,” he said. “It’s not in my mind at least because I haven’t viewed him as being ready to go yet.”
Paul George wants to play, it seems he still must pass the eye test for the coaches and training staff.