The Los Angeles Clippers are set to face Jayson Tatum and the Boston Celtics at Crypto Dot Com Monday night. The Clippers got superstar forward Kawhi Leonard back this season after he missed the entire 2021-22 season rehabbing his torn right ACL. As the season continues and Leonard is closely monitored, it leads to one to wonder: Is Kawhi Leonard playing vs. Celtics?

Is Kawhi Leonard playing vs Celtics?

So far, the Clippers have a 15-13 record through their first 28 games. Kawhi Leonard has played in just eight games for the Clippers this season, dealing with multiple injuries as he works his way back to form.

Last season, the Clippers accumulated a 42-40 regular season record, all without the two-time NBA Finals MVP. This season, the Clippers are hoping to continue their pursuit of an NBA Championship with a healthy Kawhi Leonard. The latest injury report indicates that Kawhi Leonard will play vs. Celtics on Monday night.

Here's the Clippers forward's first basket of the season back on opening night against the Los Angeles Lakers.

Kawhi Leonard underwent surgery to repair the partial tear of his right anterior cruciate ligament on July 13, 2021. He was ready to go on opening night against the Lakers, but only played two games before suffering a setback. On October 25th, Leonard was ruled out due to stiffness and swelling in his surgically repaired right knee. He would miss the next 12 games with the stiffness.

Leonard returned on November 17th against the Detroit Pistons. He appeared to be getting into a rhythm until he suffered a sprained ankle late in his third game back against the Utah Jazz. Kawhi Leonard initially claimed he was fine, but ended up missing the next six games for the Clippers.

 

Leonard returned against the Charlotte Hornets on December 5th. He scored 16 points on 7-of-15 shooting, including the game-winning shot with 1.4 seconds remaining. The Clippers would finish the road trip 2-2, with Kawhi Leonard playing in three of the four games.

After the game, Paul George said he slowly sees Kawhi Leonard getting more comfortable and looking like his old self.

“I think we’re seeing him more and more get to his spots,” George explained of Leonard. “We’re seeing him get comfortable. We’re seeing him be more aggressive as the games go on. He looked like himself, he looked like himself. He took the shots that the defense gave him, and his playmaking is always special with his ability to get to the paint and use his body. I mean, watching him, it’s him just getting back to, you know, home for him.

“This is his happy place, his home right here. So we’re gonna continue to support him around him, and again it just comes down to everybody now being in their roles and, you know, shining within that.”

Ahead of the Clippers' matchup against the Celtics, the team has continued to insist they'll be playing it safe with Kawhi Leonard and John Wall.

“We have a goal in mind of what we want those guys to play and so I’m not going to let you guys know that, but just make sure we do the right thing, just being smart and trusting the data that we’ve received back from those guys and just making sure their body’s feeling well, how they’re feeling, and then we can continue to slowly, slowly progress. But we just got to make sure right now we’re doing right by those guys and even if they want to play more and do more we can’t allow that to happen.”

As the Clippers prepare for their matchup against the Eastern Conference Champion Boston Celtics, the question is answered… Is Kawhi Leonard playing tonight? Yes, he is.