Paul George is one of the better players in the NBA today, as he has been for the last decade or so. In fact, when it is remembered what kind of injury he came back from, the fact that he is at that level only becomes more incredible.
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However, while he has recovered from what could’ve been a career-ending injury, George is also no stranger to smaller niggling ones. In fact, he gets them so often that he is often labeled as injury prone. And during his appearance on JJ Redick’s podcast ‘The Old Man and the Three’, he was questioned on just this matter.
On that opportunity, he opened up on the larger matter of why players get injured so often today, as compared to a few decades ago. And suffice it to say, his theory is beyond an interesting one.
Paul George says that players today get injured more often because they aren’t playing enough
When it comes to playing in the NBA, and the injuries associated with it, there are few who know more than Paul George. However, because he gets injured so often, many expected him to defend the players alongside him.
But, when it came down to it, George couldn’t have possibly been more critical of his fellow athletes. Here is what he said on the matter.
“I think now that teams don’t really practice… it’s a lost art when it comes to that hard practicing… back then it was you practice hard you got a game… they think by giving us time off it’s helped managing our bodies but in honesty I think it’s making us weaker…”
At first, playing fewer games causing injuries may sound a bit hard to believe. However, the more thought it is given, the more sense it makes. After all, an athlete’s body can take time to adjust to high workloads. So, when a player decides to miss games, and then not work as hard in practices either, they are also taking away the time their body needs to adapt.
And so, when they do try to kick it into high gear, injuries to some part of the body almost become inevitable.
Frankly, if this statement came from an analyst, it could’ve been prone to be disproven. However, the fact that it is coming from an NBA player who has gone through it all himself holds far more weight. And we hope some players in the league can take this as a wakeup call, and go a bit harder in practices.
What is Paul George averaging this season?
After 47 games played, Paul George is averaging 23.5 points, 6.1 rebounds, 5.2 assists, 1.5 steals, and 0.4 blocks per game.
Additionally, the Clippers man is shooting 46.2% from the field, 38.3% from deep, and 86.9% from the charity stripe.
Also Read: Stephen Curry Matches Incredible Michael Jordan Statistic Amidst Being Out With Lower Leg Injury
