Clippers give Paul George a night off against Kings

LOS ANGELES — Clippers prima Paul George got the crippled disconnected Wednesday night.

After playing successful each 21 of the Clippers’ erstwhile games, his archetypal lack of the play – officially, for “rest,” though Coach Tyronn Lue said the clip disconnected volition person the added payment of allowing George to remainder a tweaked ankle – came against the middling Sacramento Kings, who got blown out, 117-92, by the Lakers connected Tuesday nighttime successful Sacramento.

George has played 745 minutes truthful acold this season, oregon 35.5 per crippled – the 14th astir successful the league. It’s 39 much minutes than his pal Reggie Jackson, who’s played the 2nd astir for L.A.

What’s more, without co-star Kawhi Leonard successful the lineup, George has been doing the dense lifting for the Clippers. His usage complaint frankincense acold – a career-high 34% – is the sixth highest successful the NBA.

Lue said helium defers to the Clippers’ aesculapian staffers to marque those “rest” calls, specified arsenic erstwhile helium kept Marcus Morris Sr. retired of the 2nd crippled of their back-to-back acceptable connected Monday against New Orleans. Nonetheless, helium readily understood the rationale for George’s remainder day.

“The highest usage complaint of his career, the things he’s done for this squad each twelvemonth long, each the minutes, helium decidedly deserves it,” Lue said. “I deliberation helium needs it. He had a tweaked ankle from the Golden State game. Let that heal up for him a small bit, arsenic well. I deliberation it’s a cleanable clip for him and it’s good.”

Lue played coy earlier tip-off Wednesday erstwhile asked who would commencement successful George’s spot – seasoned halfway Serge Ibaka did, adding a 2nd large to the starting portion for the archetypal clip this play – but the Clippers knew they would person crushed to marque up without their person connected the court.

George is averaging 25.9 points, 7.3 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game. But his other usage has resulted successful much turnovers than ever earlier successful his vocation – and much than each but 3 different players crossed the league. George is averaging 4.3 giveaways per contest, with 15 combined successful the Clippers’ past 2 games driving that mean higher.

BATUM ‘FEELS BETTER’

Lue said Nicolas Batum is improving 11 days aft helium entered into the league’s COVID-19 wellness and information protocols. Entering Wednesday’s game, the Clippers’ grounds was 2-3 since his hiatus began.

“He said helium feels better,” Lue said. “But helium inactive has to spell done each the protocol worldly and I don’t truly cognize astir each that.”

Batum was a precocious scratch earlier the Clippers’ crippled against Dallas connected Nov. 21 with what was initially deemed “illness,” a favoritism that was updated soon thereafter.

On Friday, the versatile French guardant tweeted a photograph of a three-screen setup helium was utilizing to ticker the Clippers, the French nationalist squad and a French nonrecreational squad each play astatine the aforesaid clip with the caption: “COVID quarantine acceptable up.”

Before the play began, Lue said each of the Clippers’ players were vaccinated. On Wednesday, helium said the squad continues to instrumentality precautions and that precocious the Clippers person been undergoing investigating with akin frequence to what they were past season.

“I mean, you tin beryllium arsenic cautious arsenic you want, but you inactive tin get it,” Lue said. “Right present it’s conscionable portion of life. It’s a pugnacious time. You don’t privation to spot radical spell done it, but … you effort to beryllium arsenic cautious arsenic imaginable and conscionable hopefully, it doesn’t happen.”

Two days aft Batum initially was sidelined by the league’s wellness and information protocols, Jackson said the squad wished him well.

“Just privation him to get healthy, beryllium backmost fully,” Jackson said. “Praying for him, praying for his family, and hopefully he’s surrounded with love. We cognize his family’s gonna instrumentality attraction of him. Just privation him the best.”

COVID quarantine acceptable up 🏀🏀🏀 pic.twitter.com/hcvIbgItu9

— Nicolas Batum (@nicolas88batum) November 26, 2021