Larry Bird: 'I still expect (Paul George) to play this year'

Paul George still envisions his season debut for the Indiana Pacers, a night filled with great fanfare inside the Bankers Life Fieldhouse. When that night will be is still in question.

On Monday morning, George proclaimed that he is close to 100 percent — but there's no set date for him to begin playing games.

"I still don't know when my return date will be," George said. "I wanted it to be March 14th but that obviously didn't happen. We're just being smart about the situation, and when the time's ready I'll be back out there."

George also denied a recent ESPN report citing unnamed multiple sources that the team had targeted this week – and as early as last Saturday's game against the Brooklyn Nets – for his season debut. In referencing the name of the reporter, George said the team hadn't made plans for such an imminent comeback.

"Not at all. I don't even know where Brian (Windhorst) got that from," George said. "Never spoke to me directly, so I don't know where that came from and whose source he heard it from."

Though George is not expected to take the court in the immediate future, he reiterated a belief that he could still play before the end of the regular season.

"Yeah, again, if it gets to that point where I'm feeling great consistently then yeah. I do feel comfortable and confident in my abilities now and going forward playing hopefully during this season," George said. "Although I'm not at 100 percent fully, I'm close to it. I feel (like) playing will bring me closer to that 100 percentile. I think that's the last part."

Pacers president Larry Bird also believes George will play this season. Bird told ESPN that George has been cleared by the doctors to play, so now it's a matter of getting the Pacers' All-Star into playing shape.

"Just because he's cleared to play, doesn't mean he's in shape to play," Bird said. "And I don't want Paul to go out there until he feels comfortable with his conditioning and the way he's practicing. I'd like to see him do a little bit better.

"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. I think anytime you go through an injury like that, you have to get back out there and prove yourself. But he's not going to be 100 percent."

George suffered a severe broken leg Aug. 1 during a USA team scrimmage and has spent the entire 2014-15 season rehabilitating the fracture. Without George, the Pacers (30-39) have shown moments of soldiering on and stumbling about. The team had climbed into the playoff picture but now has lost five straight games. If the Pacers, who sit a half game outside of the playoff standings, fail to make a push in these final 13 games of the regular season, then George still would like to play to further his recovery process.

"I think more so if we're not in the playoff run, it would be more so for myself getting confidence going into next season and into a new season where I don't have to make that hurdle to start a year off," George said. "I can nip the bud now. Again, it'll be more for personal reasons if we're not in the playoffs."

When George comes back, he would prefer to play his first game in Indianapolis.

"It'll be better to come back here. I think I owe it to the fans and for them to get the first glimpse of my first night on the floor," said George, who also acknowledged exasperation with the frequent questions about his comeback.

"Honestly, it's getting annoying. I think for everybody. People are waiting to see me, I'm waiting to get out there. When the time comes, it's going to steamroll and I'm looking forward to the first game."

Call Star reporter Candace Buckner at (317) 444-6121. Follow her on Twitter: @CandaceDBuckner.