The LA Clippers have bounced back following a brutal March schedule, but everyone's attentions have now turned to Kawhi Leonard and his right knee.
Leonard has missed the last two Clippers games with what the team called right knee soreness. The six-time NBA All-Star left the Clippers' four-game road trip against the Sacramento Kings in order to go back to Los Angeles and receive treatment on the knee. On Friday afternoon, the diagnosis changed to “right knee inflammation” for Leonard.
While head coach Tyronn Lue was “hopeful” to get Leonard back for Thursday night's game against the Denver Nuggets, that didn't happen. Kawhi Leonard was ruled out of Thursday's game a day in advance, which typically isn't a great sign of a player's availability in the near future.
Things were made even more sketchy when head coach Tyronn Lue refused to answer a number of questions about Kawhi Leonard in his pre-game press conference, including whether or not he underwent an MRI.
“I mean, we're not going to get into the details of it,” Tyronn Lue explained to a group of media members. “But he has knee soreness and he's going to miss a couple games, and so we got to be ready to step up and play without him until he's ready. And so he's going through his rehab process and trying to get better.”
Tyronn Lue says Clippers star Kawhi Leonard is gonna miss a couple games and refused to answer if he got an MRI on his knee:
“We’re not gonna get into the details of it, but he’s gonna miss a couple games and we need to be ready to step up as he goes through his rehab process.”
— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) April 5, 2024
According to sources not authorized to speak publicly on the matter, Kawhi Leonard underwent a precautionary MRI upon returning to Los Angeles, which did not show anything that would cause the Clippers significant concern. Leonard is dealing with inflammation in his right knee and will miss his third straight game on Friday night on against the Utah Jazz, but he's not expected to be out long enough to endanger his playoff availability, assuming the Clippers finish with a top six seed.
All in all, there's not believed to be any significant concern with Kawhi Leonard at the moment. He and the team are going through the rehab process, managing the inflammation in his knee, and they're hopeful he'll return sometime next week, in time to play the final two or three games of the regular season.
Kawhi Leonard has played 68 games for the Clippers this season, making him eligible for end-of-season NBA awards like All-NBA Teams and All-Defensive Teams. The 68 games played are the most he's played since the 2016-17 season with the San Antonio Spurs, when he played 74 games.
The Clippers will take on the Jazz on Friday night before hosting the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday. After that, the Clippers will have four games remaining on their schedule, including two against their division rival in the Phoenix Suns.
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