Clippers’ Paul George Says He Prefers Playoff Games on the Road

Clippers forward Paul George is expected to miss the entire first-round series vs. the Suns with a sprained knee, but he still has the playoffs on his mind.

For the record, George’s LA teammates stunned the Suns in Game 1 to immediately gain home-court advantage.

It just goes to show that being on the road can have its perks. Just ask George.

“I prefer — and I feel like this is a damned if I do, damned if I don’t because I obviously love playing in front of the home fans but — I think it’s something special when you’re playing in front of the opponent’s crowd,” George said on the latest edition of Podcast P with Paul George presented by Wave Sports + Entertainment.

“Like there’s that factor of like — you see for me, playing on the road I enjoy more because it’s all about the guys that are there. Nobody there’s for us. You know what I mean? So you’re already going with that mindset of ‘this is all we’ve got. This is what it’s about. This locker room right here.’

“So that’s a lot of motivation to go into a game. And then there’s a factor of quiet in the crowd. You’re putting on a show and I have my best moments playing on the road because that’s how I looked at it. They’re there to get me out of my game. They’re trying everything in the book. They’re calling me names, you know ‘PG you suck’ hearing ‘Pandemic P’ in Phoenix and Utah. ‘Pushoff P’ in Utah, you feed off that. You love being the villain at that point. It’s the sweetest thing to be the villain, I feed off that.”

George went on the discuss his first playoff appearance, back in his Pacers days, when he went head-to-head with former Bulls point guard Derrick Rose. He also covers some of his best and worst playoff moments.

You can check out the full podcast here.

"It's the sweetest thing to be the villain." ?

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— Podcast P with Paul George (@PodcastPShow) April 17, 2023