Larry Bird thinks Paul George will play

Indiana Pacers president Larry Bird reopened the discussion on whether injured forward Paul George will play this NBA season.

Larry Bird previously discussed whether Paul George would play again this season, last month, but stopped short of guaranteeing he would play. George has also said that he’s not sure if he will play again this season and teammates have been skeptical as well.

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Conflicting reports have surfaced as George has started some practicing again.

First, it was George on the fence about coming back, then there was a report on Friday that said he might play the next week.

On Monday, Bird once again reignited the hype, as reported by Pro Basketball Talk.

Bird talked to Mike Mazzeo of ESPN and said that George was getting a lot better and he thinks he’s been cleared by the doctors, though he’s not in game shape.

"“I expect him to play this year. I hope he does for his own good — not for us to get in the playoffs or anything like that, but just for his own mental state,” Bird said."

For Bird to say he expects George to play, that sounds pretty certain. It’s hard to imagine that he would make that statement if he wasn’t relatively sure about the accuracy. Obviously Bird probably has a lot more information on George than the media or fans do, so maybe he knows something we don’t.

Currently the Pacers are sitting a half game out of playoff contention. Should the Pacers make it into the postseason, it would obviously give George that much more time to get into shape and really be able to contribute.

Bird was very clear in saying that he doesn’t expect George to come out and play 100 percent and that no one should expect that. But he does expect him to play.

Indiana Pacers president Larry Bird reopened the discussion on whether injured forward Paul George will play this NBA season.

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