LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Clippers got back to their winning ways on Wednesday night with a win over the Washington Wizards. Prior to the win, however, Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue appeared to get frustrated at some of the questions directed at him during the pregame press conference regarding the statuses of Kawhi Leonard and Paul George.
With the 2021-22 regular season winding down and 14 games remaining over the next month, time is quickly running out for the injured stars to return from their respective injuries.
Leonard has been out all season as he recovers from the partially torn ACL in his left knee. George has been out since Christmas Day and has only played 26 games this season as he deals with the UCL tear in his right elbow.
Whether the duo returns is one thing, but Tyronn Lue wants people to stop focusing on the injured stars and instead focus on the guys who are busting their behinds night in and night out for the Clippers.
“[They're] feeling good,” Lue said, visibly irritated. “Man, I'm tired of hearing this shit. When they're playing, I'll let y'all know. I'm tired of talking about them every day. We can't win a game, but we gotta talk about Kawhi/PG.”
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Instead, Tyronn Lue wants the attention to go to Reggie Jackson, who has taken on an incredible workload this season and has had zero issues with it. Without the fan favorite, who knows where the Clippers would be.
Ty Lue wants the attention to go to Marcus Morris, who the Clippers have pretty much built their offense around with the absences of their stars. Since missing 15 games in a span of a month in November, Morris has only missed 10 games, four of which were due to a bereavement.
Ty Lue wants the attention to go to Luke Kennard, who is the best 3-point shooter in the NBA right now at 45.1 percent. Lue has been on top of Kennard to shoot the ball more, and the lefty has repeatedly answered the call en route to being the league's best shooter.
Ty Lue wants people to talk about Terance Mann, Ivica Zubac, Nicolas Batum, Robert Covington, Isaiah Hartenstein, and Amir Coffey, all of whom have played a significant role this season.
“Talk about the guys in the locker room that's fighting and clawing every single day,” Lue said. “We miss [Kawhi Leonard and Paul George] like hell, but there's nothing we can do about it, so, let's focus on our guys playing every single night and giving everything they got.”
"I'm tired of hearing this shit. When they're playing, I'll let y'all know. I'm tired of talking about them every day. We can't win a game, but we gotta talk about Kawhi/PG. Talk about the guys in the locker room that's fighting & clawing every single day."
– Tyronn Lue pregame* pic.twitter.com/ddVKEOSRXe
— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) March 10, 2022
Leonard and George have increased their activity over the last few weeks, at least out in the open for everyone to see.
During the Clippers' latest practice, Paul George was seen going through shooting drills with assistant coach Brian Shaw:
Paul George doing some shooting drills here at Clippers practice.
That jumper and right elbow looks good 👀 pic.twitter.com/SacH1cQmvo
— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) March 5, 2022
Kawhi Leonard made the trip with the team to San Francisco, where he reportedly went through a rigorous one-hour workout pregame:
Kawhi Leonard was out shooting around before Clippers-Warriors today. pic.twitter.com/NeBjUWtuQ8
— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) March 9, 2022
“Kawhi Leonard participated in a rigorous pregame workout that lasted well over an hour today,” Yahoo Sports' Chris Haynes reported on TNT Tuesday. “I was told it was his first extended workout performed in front of media members. From my observation, he had zero limitations. But, still, the Clippers are being cautious and still aren't issuing a timetable on him or Paul George. I spoke to coach Lue, and he told me if he can't get his guys back for games in the regular season, then it wouldn't be safe for them to return in the playoffs.”
"Kawhi Leonard participated in a rigorous pregame workout that lasted well over an hour… Clippers are being cautious and issuing a timetable on him/PG. Ty Lue said if they can't be back regular season, then probably not safe to bring them back for playoffs.”
– Chris Haynes pic.twitter.com/bBl4F4D6oa
— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) March 9, 2022
Tyronn Lue says his two stars have remained active around the team, mentoring some of the young players.
“Just being around the guys and talking to the guys,” Lue said of their impact. “Especially the young guys, just showing them things that they could be doing and trying to help them out through the process, and they've been great, just being around, and when you have two guys like that around the locker room it does mean a lot to your young team.”
It's unclear when or even if either of the two stars return, and ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski said Wednesday George coming back is much more likely to happen than Leonard. Regardless of what happens, Ty Lue is ready to go to battle with the players he has at his disposal.
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