Paul George had a rough few days on the basketball court, that was obvious to anyone watching him shoot an uncharacteristic 21.3% from the field.

Then, after scoring a historically smooth 35 points in fewer than 25 minutes of a postseason game, pacing the Clippers in their 154-111 victory over Dallas in their Western Conference first-round series, George revealed he’d had an especially tough few days away from the court, too.

“I underestimated mental health, honestly,” George said, via Zoom, following Game 5. “I had anxiety, a little bit of depression. Just being locked in here, I just wasn’t there. I checked out. Games 2, 3, 4, I felt like I wasn’t there.”

He spoke of the challenge of being confined within the enclosed NBA campus, away from loved ones and those who typically lend support during times of stress or frustration and, alternately, who are there to share in celebration.

George said in recent days, he’d leaned on his family from afar, and on his teammates and coaches in the bubble. He also said he spoke with the Clippers’ team psychiatrist. It was a show of vulnerability – decreasingly rare – by a professional athlete, and it was appreciated by many, including his Clippers teammates, if not universally.

In the Clippers’ camp, coach Doc Rivers called George’s comments “refreshing.”

“We all should talk about it,” Rivers said. “So I was very happy with it. There’s no difference with mental health than sprained ankles or anything like that.”

Teammate Marcus Morris said he supported George and empathized with his feelings on bubble life, where the weight of social issues and the ongoing pandemic exist alongside the inescapable pressure of the playoffs.

“Being in this bubble is different, man,” Morris said. “Guys are going to take it different ways, and I’m totally with him 100 percent. I understand. And being away from your family, just always going back to the room and just being in the room and only watching TV and just having no outlets is tough.

“P.G. is very open, and I’m proud of him for standing up for what he feels and what he believes and not afraid to care what anybody thinks about him.”

Cleveland’s Kevin Love, the former UCLA star who has been open about experiencing panic attacks and anxiety in an effort to raise mental health awareness, cheered George on Twitter: “@Yg_Trece stepped up in a big way last night!! On another note, post game speaking about being in a ‘dark place’ and underestimating the effects of mental health, depression, anxiety – is HUGE coming from a player of his caliber. Was always a fan of PG but now even more so.”

But not everyone expressed such enthusiasm about George’s comments, including Hall of Famer Charles Barkley, a famously opinionated member of TNT’s “Inside the NBA” team.

“I don’t think guys making millions of dollars should be worried just cause they’re stuck in a place where they can go fishing, play golf, and play basketball to make millions of dollars,” Barkley said on Wednesday’s “The Dan Patrick Show.”

“That’s not a ‘dark place,’” Barkley continued. “The thing that just happened in Wisconsin, the things happening with this pandemic, all those people losing their jobs? Those people are in a dark place. We are the luckiest people in the world to dribble a stupid basketball to make millions of dollars; we’re never in a dark place. I just think we need to be careful what we complain about.”

Rivers said he didn’t agree with Barkley’s assessment, noting that society is evolving on matters of mental health. Still, Rivers indicated it wouldn’t be constructive to get worked up about statements like Barkley’s – or those of former NBA player Raja Bell, who criticized George’s revelations on a Ringer podcast, saying, “Ain’t nobody wants to hear it.”

“That’s the old-school thought,” Rivers said. “We also used to foul whenever we wanted to, and if you dunked on someone you had the right to take them out of the air the next play. So we don’t do any of those things anymore.