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Paul George will miss Friday night’s play-in game between the Los Angeles Clippers and the New Orleans Pelicans due to the league’s health and safety protocols, per Adrian Wojnarowski. The Clippers are vying for the 8th seed in the Western Conference.
Los Angeles lost to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday, April 12th at the chance for the 7-seed. Now, they will have to try and replace George who is out for this game. George played in only 31 games for the Clippers in the 2022 season which is the second-fewest in his career. When he was active though, George averaged 24.3 points and 6.9 rebounds per game.
The Clippers will certainly miss George against the Pelicans. These teams have played three times in the regular season when George has missed the game and New Orleans won all three. The winner of this game will take on the Phoenix Suns in the first round of the 2022 NBA Playoffs.
If George is asymptomatic and meets other testing standards, he will only be out for six days. This would allow him to return for Game 3 of the first round of the Western Conference playoffs provided that the Clippers survive the play-in game against New Orleans.