Breakups are hard for many teams and their players. Sometimes it is hard to determine who is taking a departure worse, either the team and its fans or the player itself.
For the Los Angeles Clippers and Paul George, it feels like a bit of both. Paul George returned to Los Angeles for a regular season game on November 6 for the first time since leaving the Clippers for the Philadelphia 76ers. The team gave a touching tribute in the beginning, but the fans let him know how much words were hurtful to the team.
The Clippers would get their first revenge over George by defeating them 110-98. George would be the 76ers’ leading scorer with 18 points while also accounting for seven rebounds and three steals, but he also turned the ball over four times.
Fans and some of the players for the Clippers had their fun in the win while also adding fuel to the fire over the breakup. George let everyone his feelings about the Clippers moving forward.
A salty George took his feelings to ‘Podcast P with Paul Geroge’ where felt disrespected by the boos from Clipper fans. He believed he was owed more gratitude and grace throughout the game because he helped give the franchise that had never been to a Western Conference Finals before.
On his latest episode of Podcast P, George held nothing back.
“What did I say that was wrong? I did not call Clippers ‘the B team’ I said it felt like the B team… But they proved me right.
“They aren’t packing out Intuit Dome. That’s ya’ll home… Go ____ing support them.”
George took a personal shot at a fanbase who had continued to support him through the terrible playoff performances and survived the ‘Pandemic P’ comments. They continued to support him when they needed George while Kawhi Leonard was out. He also took offense to the new stadium and fans didn’t fill up the seats for by less than 3,000 fans on a Wednesday night.
George left a loyal fan base, his hometown of Los Angeles and a chance to win a championship for more money with the 76ers. At certain points during his free agency talk, he admitted he was more passionate about his rising podcast show and that winning a championship wasn’t his top priority. This angered the fans, the organization and irked players as well, who felt he wasn’t in for the fame on the court.
The Clippers were impacted significantly by George’s contract to sign another star, but they signed solid free agents and re-signed James Harden, Ivica Zubac and Terance Mann.
The Clippers (6-5) are playing well in certain areas, especially on the defensive end of the court, and staying alive until Leonard comes back from a knee injury he suffered last season.
George, on the other hand, is struggling on the court while encountering some injuries. The 76ers (2-8) play in Wednesday’s NBA Cup game against an undefeated Cleveland Cavaliers (12-0) without George and center Joel Emiid due to a knee injury management. George had only played five games this season while Tuesday night’s 111-99 loss to the New York Knicks was the first game of the season for Embiid.
Related Posts
