Getty Paul George of the Oklahoma City Thunder, who is battling a shoulder injury.
With MVP candidate Paul George slowed down by a shoulder injury, the Thunder weren’t able to beat the Blazers in game one of their NBA playoff series despite an off night from both Damian Lillard and CJ McCullom. Lillard and McCullom shot a combined 18-45 from the field with neither shooting above 50%. That is unlikely to change moving forward and the Thunder desperately need George back to full health heading into another road matchup.
George initially hurt his shoulder back on February 26th in a game against the Denver Nuggets. George would return to action on March 5th but would never look like the MVP caliber player he was leading up to the injury. Most notably, his three-point percentage dropped nearly seven percent and the Thunder’s net rating with George on the court dropped from an astounding 9.9 to a very pedestrian 2.7.
Already down one game to nothing, the Thunder need to steal away a game on the road in order to have any shot at advancing beyond the first round. As good as Russell Westbrook and Steven Adams may be, the Thunder need their dynamic two-way wing talent at full strength to compete with any team in the Western Conference playoffs. With so many question marks around such a key cog in the Thunder machine, game two of the Thunder vs. Blazers series should help to provide a much clearer picture of how this series will play out.
Paul George Shoulder Injury Update
While Paul George’s status leading up to game one in the NBA playoffs was shrouded in doubt, the star forward has been much more open leading up to game two. Despite struggling in game one to the tune of an 8 for 24 shooting performance from the field, George has repeatedly told the press that his shoulder feels more than fine and that he was actually able to get some shots up on Monday, something he hadn’t done since the Houston game at the end of the regular season.
George was also notably left off the Thunder’s injury list heading into the game two matchup against Portland and he is almost certain to not only start the game for the Thunder but see his usual allotment of minutes. Going up against the loaded backcourt of Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum, the Thunder need a productive George as he gives them a massive advantage on the wing. Should George’s shoulder prove to be a bigger issue than he is leading on in game two, the Thunder could find themselves in a precarious situation down two games to nothing with their MVP candidate trying to play through an injury.
Thunder vs Blazers Projected Roster & Starting Lineup
PG: Russell Westbrook
SG: Terrance Ferguson
SF: Paul George
PF: Jerami Grant
C: Steven Adams
Bench: Nerlens Noel, Markief Morris, Raymond Felton, Dennis Schroeder, Patrick Patterson, Abdel Nader, Hamidou Diallo, Deonte Burton