An iron man no more. Kawhi Leonard's perfect attendance record through the first quarter-plus of the 2023-24 season is over and could be trending in a worrisome direction. He will miss his second-consecutive game after being ruled out with a hip contusion for the Los Angeles Clippers' big Saturday showdown with the Boston Celtics, per ESPN's Ohm Youngmisuk.
Admittedly, it is a tad early for the doom and gloom routine. Leonard has played in back-to-backs and reminded everyone that he is still one of the best players in the NBA when healthy. Despite there being multiple mouths to feed in the Clippers' offense, he is averaging 24.4 points per game and is just a few free-throw percentage points from posting a 50/40/90 shooting line.
LA has already undergone one major adjustment period after James Harden's arrival, and it was not an easy one. The team has found its groove now, though, winning nine-straight games before getting beaten without Leonard by the Oklahoma City Thunder this past Thursday.
If this injury lingers, head coach Tyronn Lue and the Clippers' core will again be forced to make some tweaks. And that is an excruciating deja vu this fan base cannot endure.
The Clippers have been defined by injuries in recent years
Firm championship aspirations were attached to this franchise when it acquired Kawhi Leonard and Paul George back in 2019. A historic Western Conference Finals appearance in 2021, which could have resulted in even more success had Leonard not partially torn his ACL the round earlier, was encouraging but not the ultimate goal the organization craves.
With that in mind, LA (17-11) is going to be careful in how it manages its stars. Rushing Leonard back, even in a big home game against the first-place Celtics (21-6), is not something the Clippers are apt to do. But load management has done little to keep this group healthy when it matters most over the last few years. What will change this year?
Tipoff for Saturday's game is set for 3:30 p.m. ET in the Crypto.com Arena.
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