San Antonio Spurs forward Kawhi Leonard has been declared out for tonight's game against the Orlando Magic, pushing his projected return to Thursday against the New Orleans Pelicans, according to Tom Orsborn of the San Antonio Express-News.
Leonard had been aiming for a return tonight or on Thursday, as he's been ramping up his recovery since last week, when he promised to return to action sometime in March.
According to sources close to the situation, Leonard has been pushing himself to be ready to join his teammates, as his Spurs now find themselves out of the playoff picture, last in a virtual three-way tie with the Utah Jazz and the Denver Nuggets, mired in 10th place.
The Spurs had been firmly holding onto the third spot in the West, but their recent struggles along with some rampant win streaks in the West have stripped that security blanket for them, now forcing them to fight for their playoff lives.
San Antonio only has 15 games left in the season to garner a playoff seed and hope their 20-year playoff streak (the longest in the NBA) doesn't come to an end in this 2017-18 season.
Leonard averaged a mere 16.2 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per game in his nine games back with the team, earlier in the season — still a shadow of himself with remaining discomfort from his quad injury.
The Klaw has been cleared by his doctors to proceed in his recovery and should be a welcome addition to a team that has lost eight of their last 10 games.
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