Last month, a report surfaced that Paul George was going to play this Saturday, March 14, for the first time this season. Pacers coach Frank Vogel says George, who suffered a horrific leg injury in August during an exhibition game with Team USA, is still a ways out, but George still has his eye on playing this season.
The latest video in George’s behind-the-scenes series on Bleacher Report features an inside look at his workouts and his mindset. Watch the video below:
“I’ve envisioned making my first big play and the crowd going crazy,” George says in the video. “Whether it’s a big three-pointer or even just my first basket back. Me turning to the crowd, let them know I’m back. I already dreamed it out. I already mapped it out.”
The Pacers, despite a bevy of other injuries to key players, are in the playoff hunt in the Eastern Conference. They currently hold the seventh seed with a 29-34 record. It’s to Vogel’s credit that they’re probably the safest bet of the lower-tier teams to make it in, whether George comes back or not. if he’s healthy in the playoffs, that’s a first-round matchup for the Hawks, Bulls or Cavaliers that nobody is going to want to see.