Fansided

Clippers' Paul George shade comes at odd time after Game 7 blowout

Remember playing Pokemon and you would try to take your bike out inside and the game said no? There is a time and place for everything.
ByMat Rutkowski|
Apr 8, 2025; Inglewood, California, USA; LA Clippers president of baskerball operations Lawrence Frank watches in the first half against the San Antonio Spurs at Intuit Dome. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
Apr 8, 2025; Inglewood, California, USA; LA Clippers president of baskerball operations Lawrence Frank watches in the first half against the San Antonio Spurs at Intuit Dome. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

I’m not imagining it, am I? The Los Angeles Clippers lost the series against the Nuggets, right? It was hard fought and everything. Went to seven games. But at the end, the Nuggets, even without their championship coach, and with a roster, on paper, that looks weaker than a year ago, took down a healthy Clippers team.

I mean that. Healthy. Kawhi Leonard had his healthiest playoff campaign since, when, about 2019? It’s hard to keep track of which season was lost for what reason. It’s just been a song stuck on repeat.

To be realistic though, this was the most formidable the Clippers had looked in quite some time. This could have been the year. Maybe the loss of Paul George was good. He was so hurt and kind of old. Maybe Harden would keep it together in the playoffs. He looked good almost all season. Maybe Norman Powell would keep going “Powell Powell Powell” every time he touched the ball and play really well like he had been.

Well, early in the third quarter of Game 7, the lead grew to 25 and the Nuggets never looked back. It was Game 7. The Clippers lost. All those hopes, all those scenarios, all those maybes… nah.

Lawrence Frank decided to throw a little shade anyway

That’s what this is, right? There are plenty of ways to compliment the season that Norman Powell had without making clear reference to the space left behind by a former Clippers player.

It’s Paul George. This is Paul George shade. For reasons unexplained, Lawrence Frank decided to take the moment after a rather heartbreaking series to tell PG13, “Hey, we still did better than you, jerk.”

In so many words.

It feels like there may have been a better time for that. Maybe before the playoffs. Maybe before they play each other. Sure, their season series ended in November, but Powell was already looking like a fringe All-Star then. That’s like when you run into your ex with your new partner and telling them how well you’ve been doing and how you sincerely hope they turn their life around. I think that’s how it works. Relationships are complex.

And ultimately, that’s how this all came to be. PG and Lawrence Frank couldn’t agree on his worth. We knew George had lingering feelings about that. I guess Frank did too.

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