BOSTON — Paul George has played just 78 games combined in his previous two seasons in Philadelphia. Since 2019, he’s been available for more than 56 regular-season games just once in his career — and he’s seemingly endured more injury-riddled offseasons than healthy ones.
But sitting at the Auerbach Center podium on Tuesday afternoon, George made sure to emphasize just how healthy he now feels relative to the last few years.
“Obviously, the last two years have been rough just with injuries, but for
myself personally, I feel great again,” he said. “I feel like I’ve turned that corner in dealing with injuries, and now kind of re-establishing myself from a physical standpoint again, and with that, I can carry it over to the court.”
The 36-year-old joins the Celtics as a result of the trade that sent Jaylen Brown to the Philadelphia 76ers. He made clear that he plans to play a deferential role on the roster: “We have a superstar, and that’s JT… I’m here to help JT. He’s the guy.”
Paul George joins the Celtics off of a healthy offseason
Last year, before the season began, George underwent an arthroscopic procedure on his left knee to treat an injury suffered during a workout. The previous season — his first as a member of the 76ers — he missed games due to a myriad of injuries, including a knee hyperextension he suffered in the offseason and adductor injuries.
“This summer really was a chance to continue to work: strengthen my body, strengthen my knee,” George said. “It’s almost like a kind of rebirth, or reborn again — to be in a system, to be in a winning culture, a winning environment, and to feel good. To be able to work, to be able to train again in the summers — my summers the last couple of years were dedicated to rehab.”
The Celtics have plenty of young wings who can slot into his starting spot if injuries do pop up, like Jordan Walsh, Hugo Gonzalez, Baylor Scheierman, and Ron Harper Jr., among others. But if George can stay relatively healthy and be good to go come playoff time, the Celtics will be far better off for it.
Can George stay healthy throughout an 82-game season and into a playoff run?
Only time will tell, but in his introductory press conference, George said all the right things.
