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The Los Angeles Clippers are set to face Devin Booker and the Phoenix Suns at Crypto.com Arena on Sunday night. The Clippers played Saturday night as well, edging the Sacramento Kings without Kawhi Leonard and John Wall. With LA back in action, fans want to know if Kawhi Leonard will be playing tonight vs. the Suns.
Is Kawhi Leonard playing vs. Suns?
Leonard played in the Clippers' season opener against the Lakers, but he came off the bench to play limited minutes. He finished with 14 points and seven rebounds in 21 minutes of play as LA earned a victory.
The Clippers had a day off Friday before returning to the court Saturday in Sacramento. Because it was a back-to-back set ahead of Sunday's home opener, Leonard and Wall sat out, with Paul George going for 40 points in a 111-109 win.
Following Thursday night's win over the Lakers, Kawhi Leonard told members of the media he would be very careful with back-to-back sets.
No back-to-backs for Kawhi Leonard, whose focus is strengthening his ACL right now.
“You gotta gradually play minutes in order to get the ACL strong. Once you start playing 38 minutes first game, it could easily weaken up. I’m listening to the doctors with that.” pic.twitter.com/NAo6wErUkj
— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) October 21, 2022
While Leonard didn't play Saturday, all indications suggest he'll be good to go for Sunday. It seems as if he'll likely come off the bench again as the Clippers play it especially safe with his return.
There's a good reason why LA wants to be so cautious. The Clippers need Kawhi Leonard and Paul George to be fresh when it matters down the stretch and into the postseason, so that means playing it safe throughout the season.
Leonard underwent surgery to repair the partial tear of his right anterior cruciate ligament on July 13, 2021. It has been about 15 months since his ACL surgery, and he put in a lot of work to be ready to play for the 2022-23 season.
The Clippers star was first seen taking jump shots during practice last Oct. 19:
Kawhi Leonard put up some jumpers today before Clippers practice. pic.twitter.com/8MLEvHQ2kZ
— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) October 19, 2021
NBA on TNT later reported that Leonard was doing explosive box jumps as of Nov. 10.
“Um, jump up on this table,” Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said, putting both hands on the three-foot high table he was sitting in front of. “Just seeing him active and being able to jump and progress in the way he is, it's just good to see. But that's about it.”
Here's what Lue had to say about Leonard following his first five-on-five practice with the team on Day 1 of training camp.
“He looked really good,” Lue said. “Went through everything, both practices, so it was good to see. He said he feels good and ready to practice today. That is a great sign. We just kind of read him, read his body, let the medical tell us what we need to do but he is a go for today so that is good.”
There was a lot of anticipation for Kawhi Leonard's return last season, but the star and the team ultimately ended up playing it safe and sitting him out for the whole year.
Lue recently talked about playing it safe with Kawhi Leonard and John Wall.
“We have a goal in mind of what we want those guys to play and so I’m not going to let you guys know that, but just make sure we do the right thing, just being smart and trusting the data that we’ve received back from those guys and just making sure their body’s feeling well, how they’re feeling, and then we can continue to slowly, slowly progress. But we just got to make sure right now we’re doing right by those guys and even if they want to play more and do more we can’t allow that to happen.”
This all makes sense as the Clippers move forward in the 2022-23 season. As for the Clippers' home opener against the Suns on Sunday night, the question is answered…is Kawhi Leonard playing tonight? Yes, he is.
