Paul George admits he played through ‘insecurities’ early in season

Paul George’s numbers have been down a bit this year with the Los Angeles Clippers. Part of that is likely down to him sharing the floor with the likes of Kawhi Leonard, but there may have been another reason as well.

George said he played through “insecurities” early in the season stemming from offseason shoulder surgery. George added that he is now back to his best, but didn’t feel completely right physically throughout a portion of the season.

Paul George said he felt "insecurities" throughout the season because his repaired shoulders didn't feel quite right. He says he now feels "great again."

"Feeling back to myself again."

— Andrew Greif (@AndrewGreif) July 10, 2020

George didn’t debut with the Clippers until Nov. 14. While he had a handful of big games in 2019, he also had a lot of games where he didn’t hit the 20-point mark. In fact, since the start of February, he’s averaging a modest 17.5 points per game, though he’s played only 26.9 minutes per night during that span.

George admitted he was shying away from contact early in the season. If he’s feeling as good as he says now, that will be a big boost to the Clippers’ title chances.