Kawhi Leonard is predicted to make his season debut for the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday after they host the Atlanta Hawks, in line with NBA Insider Chris Haynes. The staff upgraded him to questionable on Friday night time.
Leonard, who has been affected by irritation in his proper knee, has been enjoying full-contact 5-on-5 in observe since Dec. 18, however the Clippers needed to see him get extra scrimmages in earlier than bringing him again, coach Tyronn Lue instructed reporters.
Three months in the past, staff president Lawrence Frank stated that, whereas the swelling in Leonard’s knee was nearly gone, they needed to be cautious. Final season, Leonard performed in 68 of the Clippes’ first 74 video games, then missed their final eight due to irritation in his knee. He tried to come back again throughout their first-round sequence in opposition to the Dallas Mavericks, however his knee did not reply in addition to they’d hoped it might. This time, they needed to be sure that he would not wind up in an identical state of affairs.
“I do know he would not prefer to play 5-on-5 rather a lot exterior of the video games, however this is essential to the medical workers, to Lawrence, to our group as nicely,” Lue stated. “Simply ensuring he is getting the correct amount of reps, ensuring he is doing every part so this does not happen once more. so we will type of monitor the fluid and see the way it’s working. To date, it has been actually good, and we simply wish to proceed to maintain progressing.”
If Leonard certainly comes again on Saturday, he can have missed the Clippers’ first 34 video games of the season. The Clippers have gone 19-15 (tied within the loss column with the No. 6 Mavericks) with out Leonard thanks largely to their top-five protection.
Their offense, nonetheless, ranks within the backside 10. James Harden’s utilization price is the very best it has been since 2019-20, however he has instructed reporters that he isn’t nervous about his position altering when Leonard comes again.
“It is humorous, me and Kawhi talked about that slightly bit on the bench in the present day,” Harden stated after the Clippers’ 102-92 win in opposition to the Golden State Warriors, by way of ClutchPoints’ Tomer Azarly, on Dec. 27. “Every time his return is, we simply talked about [it], and I simply stated, ‘Simply work your method in,’ you understand what I imply? ‘Trigger he looks like he would not wish to simply come over and simply mess up the movement and the chemistry that we’ve been build up, however I do not suppose it will be an issue. Like, I have been in each state of affairs in a way of like being the principle man, having to take [a step back]. So I feel, for our aggressiveness and our staff, we will nonetheless play the identical method. It is simply we obtained one other distinctive weapon on each ends of the ground, so it is undoubtedly a bonus for us.”
In 2023-24, Leonard made the All-NBA Second Group and averaged 23.7 factors on 62.6% true capturing, plus 6.1 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 1.6 steals and 0.9 blocks in 34.3 minutes.
