Paul George will not play in Wednesday’s game vs. the Rockets [UPDATE]

Paul George Status Update

UPDATE: Per Coach Doc Rivers, SF/PF Paul George (shoulder) will not make his Clippers’ debut tonight vs. the Rockets. Rivers said there’s a chance PG-13 gets back into the lineup Thursday vs. the Pelicans, which was originally reported Tuesday. It seems we’ll have to wait at least another day to see the All-Star in action.

With no PG for now, Kawhi Leonard will play, but could be a rest candidate for Thursday against New Orleans. With no Landry Shamet tonight, and the rest of the lineup the same, there isn’t much to cover now. If Leonard were to sit out tomorrow and George debuts, he’d be in a decent spot for DFS depending on a minutes restriction and DraftKings price. There’s plenty of info below on how to handle LA’s lineup for tonight.

Prior to the lock of Tuesday’s slate, the Clippers announced that Paul George (shoulder) is officially listed as questionable for Wednesday’s game vs. the Rockets. PG-13 is expected to either return Wednesday or Thursday vs. the Pelicans. So we’ll have to wait and see if it’s the former or the latter. If you’re looking for how to handle George’s potential return or a scenario where he sits out again, we’ve got plenty of DFS and fantasy basketball analysis below.

We’ve got our first Woj Bomb of the day! The long-awaited debut of All-Star forward Paul George (shoulder) for the Clippers will end this week, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

Woj is saying George will return either tomorrow vs. the Rockets or Thursday night in primetime vs. the Pelicans. Whichever day the Clippers pick, it’s great news for the consensus pick to win the 2019-20 NBA Championship this season.

Let’s look at how it impacts LA’s lineup and Kawhi Leonard.

Fantasy Basketball Analysis, Los Angeles Clippers SF/PF Paul George

First off, we can expect the Clippers to ease PG-13 back into action. I mean, they’re already managing the hell out of Leonard’s load, so there’ not reason for LA to stretch George out too early. Keep an eye out later in the week to see if Doc Rivers puts a minutes restriction on PG-13 in his return.

As far as the lineup, Patrick Patterson is the most likely candidate to be bumped to the bench in favor of George. Though Patterson started, he didn’t see many minutes at PF anyway, with Montrezl Harrell and Moe Harkless eating up front court usage. Both of those guys take a hit with George back, but not by much until PG is at full strength.

It’s also worth noting starting SG Landry Shamet may miss time due to an ankle injury he sustained last night. He’s getting an MRI, so we’ll hopefully know more soon. If he is out, Rivers could leave Patterson in the starting 5 and go with PG-13 and Leonard for a pretty big lineup. Lou Williams operates primarily off the bench, so don’t expect him to start. Rodney McGruder may be inserted for Shamet but wouldn’t see a big bump in playing time.

George’s return was expected, so in terms of betting advice, this doesn’t change much as far as the Clippers odds to win the West, NBA Championship, etc are concerned.

Check back for updates on which game George will return for on the road trip.