Paul George Clashed With Clippers Teammates During Nuggets Series
Paul George clashed with at least one of his Los Angeles Clippers teammates during their series against the Denver Nuggets.
In Game 2 of their Western Conference semifinals showdown, an outing the Clippers would go on to lose, George and Montrezl Harrell got into it following a botched play.
As reported by Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports, leading up to the blow-up, George committed his second turnover of the second quarter when he threw an ill-advised pass to Harrell.
After Harrell pointed out to George that the turnover was his fault, George refused to take responsibility.
According to Haynes, at that point Harrell replied with a statement along the lines of: “You’re always right. Nobody can tell you nothing.”
Cursing was also reportedly exchanged during the back-and-forth.
Things are gonna get interesting. https://t.co/8SNZ7uc4Cd
— Game 7 (@game7__) September 16, 2020
The Clippers lost that outing, before ultimately going on to win Games 3 and 4. With the series appearing to be over and a 3-1 lead firmly in their grasp, George and Co. somehow choked away their advantage and allowed the Nuggets to win three straight.
The Clippers’ collective failure culminated in a Game 7 implosion on Tuesday night. George finished with 10 points and five turnovers on 4 of 16 shooting from the field. Three of those points came in the second half.
After the Clippers ultimately lost 104-89 and were eliminated from the playoffs, George suggested that a lack of chemistry was responsible.
“I think internally, we’ve always felt, this is not a championship-or-bust year for us,” he said.
Kawhi and Paul George got very honest about why the Clippers failed. https://t.co/xTXQ03PoZH
— Game 7 (@game7__) September 16, 2020
“You know, we can only get better the longer we stay together and the more we’re around each other. More chemistry for the group, the better. I think that’s really the tale of the tape of this season. We just didn’t have enough time together.”
That said, George expected the chemistry issue to improve as time goes on.
“First year together … we can’t even say we want to change our roster. We like what we got. We’ve been saying it all year: just chemistry, being together. The more we’re together, the better we will be. It’s year one, year one. We’ve got a lot to reflect on.”
Given how little LA has to work with in terms of improving the roster, a lot will be riding on George’s assessment of chemistry eventually taking a turn for the better. If it doesn’t, and if this was a sign of things to come for the Clippers, this could quickly turn into one of the most disappointing super teams in NBA history.
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Charles Kruger has been credentialed to cover two Super Bowls, four NBA Finals, and one World Series. A 20-year veteran in the sports world, he has sources spanning the NBA, MLB, NFL, UFC and NASCAR. Currently residing in Los Angeles, Calif., he is Game 7’s go-to source for rumors surrounding the Lakers, Clippers and Dodgers.
