The Los Angeles Clippers are hopeful to get superstar Kawhi Leonard back from injury when Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets. Unfortunately for them, their hopes will have to wait for another game.
The Clippers have ruled Kawhi Leonard out for Thursday night's game against the Nuggets with right knee soreness. It's the second consecutive game that Leonard will miss with the injury.
Kawhi Leonard is OUT tomorrow against the defending NBA champion Nuggets.
Josh Primo is also OUT with an ankle sprain.
No one else is listed and the rest of the guys are expected to be available.
— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) April 3, 2024
Leonard participated in the first three games of the Clippers' four-game road trip, all on the East coast in Philadelphia, Orlando, and Charlotte. With only a one day break between the game in Charlotte and the game in Sacramento, Kawhi Leonard was ruled out of the final game of the trip. In fact, the two-time NBA Finals MVP returned to Los Angeles in order to receive treatment on the knee with the goal of accelerating his return to the lineup.
Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue spoke with members of the media in Sacramento before Tuesday night's game against the Kings, where he expressed his hope that Leonard would be able to return for Thursday night's game against the Nuggets.
“We hope so,” Tyronn Lue said. “We're not sure right now, but that's what we're leaning towards. We hope, we're hopeful that he's back by Thursday, but not sure yet.”
We now know that Kawhi Leonard will not return on Thursday, which is the first half of a back-to-back set. The Clippers take on the Denver Nuggets Thursday night and then welcome the Utah Jazz to town on Friday night.
Another factor in the injury management of Kawhi Leonard is that the Clippers are starting a five-in-seven on Thursday.
A huge game tomorrow night vs. the Kings. A win would give the Clippers the H2H tiebreaker and a 9-5 division record.
It would also keep some separation as they enter a 5-in-7 stretch that looks like:
Thurs. — vs DEN
Fri. — vs UTA
Sat. —
Sun. — vs CLE…— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) April 2, 2024
After Tuesday night's game, Tyronn Lue acknowledged that the Clippers struggle to get a lot of good three-point opportunities with Kawhi Leonard already out.
Kawhi Leonard has played 68 games this season, the most he's played since his 2016-17 All-Star season. Leonard is averaging 23.7 points, 6.1 rebounds, 3.6 assists, and 1.6 steals per game on 52.5 percent shooting from the field and 41.7 percent from beyond the arc.
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