Paul George Could Return Next Week

Credit: Robert Scheer / The Star

An interesting as well as surprising story came from the NBA , as Indiana Pacers All-Star Paul George may make his season debut within a week’s time. “Multiple Sources” have told ESPN’s Brian Windhorst that the Pacers are targeting him to play in one of the four games that they have in the next seven days.

George averaged a career high 21.7 points per game last season, made his second All-Star Game appearance, and was the frontrunner for the MVP award before the Pacers began playing terribly in the second half of the season.  The 24-year-old has not played since August after suffering a horrendous injury during the USA FIBA team scrimmage where his leg crashed onto the hoops’ stanchion. He was later diagnosed with a compound fracture of the tibia and fibula, the video of the injury went viral due to how gruesome it is.

Fast-Forward to now where George has been working night and day for months to get back and healthy; George has been running and practicing for the team for around three weeks, but reportedly he is still favoring his leg due to the injury.

Team president Larry Bird and George have publicly expressed optimism that the small forward would return this season, but after the Pacers went on a seven win streak, George retracted on the idea of returning, where he second guessed if his return would disrupt the team’s rhythm.

But after the fore-mentioned seven-game win streak, the Pacers entered Friday’s game against the Cleveland Cavaliers (They lost 95-92) on a three-game losing streak, which may have George and the organization consider actually making this return happen. As of right now, Indiana is in a tie for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference with the Boston Celtics.