Reinforcements are on the way for the Los Angeles Clippers. With the start of the four-game road trip on hand, the Clippers will get Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, and Luke Kennard back from injuries.
Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, and Luke Kennard are all back today vs. the Hornets, Clippers coach Ty Lue says pregame, per @JerryDonatien.
Norman Powell is OUT*
— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) December 5, 2022
Monday night's game marks the first time since October 23rd against the Phoenix Suns that all three of Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, and Luke Kennard will be available for the Clippers.
Kawhi Leonard has missed the last six games with an ankle sprain suffered on November 21st late in the win against the Utah Jazz. He has played just five games this season, but the Clippers are 4-1 in the games that Kawhi Leonard plays in.
Paul George has missed the last seven games fo the Clippers, going down one game before Kawhi Leonard's injury. George suffered a right hamstring tendon strain in the first half of the Clippers win over the San Antonio Spurs on November 19th. George would sit out the second half, and the next seven games, before finally being cleared to return.
Luke Kennard has missed the last nine games for the Clippers with a calf strain suffered on November 15th against the Dallas Mavericks. Kennard has slowly been ramping up his on-court work and the team feels he's ready for a return on Monday night.
The Clippers getting three major offensive weapons back means they won't have to heavily rely on the likes of Reggie Jackson, Marcus Morris, and Ivica Zubac.
:People talk about wins and losses, but the biggest thing is the other guys getting worn down because they have to play more minutes now,” Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue said pregame. “They have to do thing they’re not accustomed to doing, taking on a bigger role, and that’s kind of tough. That’s been our problem. Marcus, Reggie, and Zu have had to play a lot more minutes than what they normally have to play if our guys were healthy.”
"People talk about wins and losses, but the biggest thing is the other guys getting worn down because they have to play more minutes, they have to do things they’re not accustomed to doing."
Ty Lue on Marcus Morris, Reggie Jackson, & Ivica Zubac having to do more due to injuries pic.twitter.com/a0djs0po88
— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) December 5, 2022
The Clippers season is officially 30 percent complete at the conclusion of Monday night's game. They'll have had their full complement of players available for just two games, but getting Kawhi Leonard and Paul George back on the floor is more important than anything else at this point.
“No matter who's on the floor, we're going to compete,” Lue said. “Play hard and I think we have a chance to win every game. It’s hard to really assess our team because our guys have been out for so long, but this next stretch of 20-25 games is gonna be very important to us and for us to see who we are on both sides of the basketball. With the injuries al year, we really haven't had a chance to see our whole team and had a very very small sample size. Tonight's the start of something new, and hopefully these next 25 games, we can start establishing who we are and who we want to be.”
"It's an exciting day for us. Minus Norm [Powell], this is the closest we've been [to 100%] since Game 3 of the regular season. We're very excited."
Ty Lue on the Clippers getting Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, and Luke Kennard back.
(via @JerryDonatien) pic.twitter.com/LkStGSaHSK
— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) December 5, 2022
The LA Clippers and Charlotte Hornets tip off at 4PM PST.
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