It has been exactly two months since the Indiana Pacers' superstar forward Paul George returned to the basketball court last April 5, and he says he is now close to coming back to All-Star form. He quipped that he would have been ready to face LeBron James, or the Golden State Warriors, in the NBA Finals today if he had to, according to an AP article for ESPN.

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Just recently, George was seen playing in a charity celebrity softball game in Indiana, as per IndyStar's Dana Hunsinger Benbow. The reporter caught him for an interview and asked about the current condition of his leg. Before batting for the first pitch of the softball game, he said that he is feeling like his old self and is ready to play James right now, then retorted that he should have said the Warriors, referencing that he and LeBron are from the same conference.

After suffering a gruesome leg-snapping injury during a Team USA scrimmage in Las Vegas in August 2014, George was able to come back on the floor after only eight months of treatment to face the Miami Heat in an NBA regular season game.

But his 2015 comeback is short-lived as he succumbed to another injury ten days and six games later against the Memphis Grizzlies. This time he was fortunate that it was only a strained right calf muscle. Even so, it made him decide to stop playing for the moment and just concentrate on rehabbing his legs to make a more impactful appearance for his team this October.

George also intimated that even if he continued playing and the Pacers was able to enter the playoffs, he would not have been as effective as he can be, as reported by Sun Herald's Michael Marot. The article also revealed that it was Pacers president Larry Bird's plan to put George on the floor earlier than usual for him to figure out what are the things he needed to build up so he can come back stronger next season.

So far, based on George's talks with the media, the decision is turning out well.

Benbow also reported that Bird is envisioning to start George at the power forward position next season to implement a much faster pace. If that is the plan, then Paul's legs should be perfectly ready by then.

TagsNBA 2015, NBA news, NBA News 2015, NBA rumors, NBA Rumors 2015, Paul George, Indiana Pacers