as Stevens put it<\/a>, \u201ccarry you for portions of a quarter or a half, but also play a complementary role on both ends of the floor at the highest of levels.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"Celtics](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/lticsnl05.jpg\")
Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla, left, and President of Basketball Operations Brad Stevens, right, listen to Paul George during a press conference Tuesday. Nancy Lane\/Boston Herald<\/p>\n
That\u2019s the version of George the Celtics are hoping to get this season, and the role he envisions for himself. He said this week that his job is to be a supportive running mate for Boston\u2019s \u201csuperstar,\u201d Tatum.<\/p>\n
To do that, George will need to avoid the injury issues that have plagued him since the start of this decade. He\u2019s played more than 56 games just once in the last seven seasons and was limited to 41 and 37 in his two Sixers campaigns.<\/p>\n
He was able to start the final 21 games for Philadelphia last season, including playoffs, but only after serving a midseason suspension that sidelined him for all of February and most of March. That long layoff, he said, helped him perform at his best down the stretch and into the postseason \u2014 and enter the offseason healthy.<\/p>\n
George said he currently feels \u201camazing\u201d after a rehab-free summer.<\/p>\n
\u201cReally, it was that time that I had off. It was almost like a dog being let off the leash, right?\u201d he said when asked about the Celtics series. \u201cLike, you\u2019ve been chained up for so long, and the analogy there is just the limitations again, physically, and then to be healthy again. \u2026 But I was feeling good. I felt that I was able to do all the things out there to gain an advantage or be a weapon.\u201d<\/p>\n
Since George won\u2019t, the Celtics hope, have a 25-game break in the middle of this season, the onus will be on their coaching and training staffs to ensure he\u2019s fit and available for the most important games next April and May. It would not be surprising to see Mazzulla manage George\u2019s workload like he did with the similarly seasoned Al Horford, who did not play on back-to-back nights in the final years of his Celtics tenure.<\/p>\n
\u201cI kind of just want to look at it from a (standpoint of) what makes sense, what doesn\u2019t, how my body feels,\u201d George told NBC Sports Boston\u2019s Chris Forsberg. \u201cObviously, it\u2019s been unacceptable to me from a personal level to not be able to play at least 50 games, 60 games in a season. And so that\u2019s kind of a benchmark obviously I want for myself, to be on the upper end of games played.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut obviously, the big picture is being ready and being at my full self come postseason. We\u2019ve had early conversations (about) that. I\u2019m not sure what it will look like once the season starts, but I think it\u2019s great to kind of have that relationship. And just from a mental standpoint, that the long game is the objective.\u201d<\/p>\n
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