Los Angeles Clippers All-Star Kawhi Leonard will miss Sunday’s first game of the playoffs against the Dallas Mavericks.
head coach Tyronn Lue announces news In the hours leading up to the game. Leonard was suffering from inflammation in his knee and was questionable before being ruled out.
Leonard has been sidelined since March 31 with an injury and missed the Clippers’ final eight games of the regular season. President of Basketball Operations Lawrence Frank expressed hope Thursday that he might be able to play on Sunday.
“I’ve made progress, but I need to continue to reduce the inflammation so I can perform functional basketball movements,” Frank told reporters. “We expect him to get there.”
Leonard’s status after Game 2 is unclear. The Athletic reported last week that Leonard had an injection in his injured knee in early April in hopes of playing in the first round of the playoffs.
This injury puts the Clippers at a significant disadvantage against the Mavericks. Leonard played in 68 games this season, his most since the 2016-17 season, and was named to the All-Star team for the sixth time in his career as the Clippers finished fourth in the West with a 51-31 record. Los Angeles finished the games without Leonard with a 4-4 record.
When healthy, Leonard is a dynamic offensive player and also an elite defender who can take over games. He has been plagued by injuries throughout his career since joining the Clippers in 2019, greatly limiting his play. Prior to this season, he had never played more than 57 games in a season with the Clippers and missed the entire 2021-22 season with an injury. ACL tear.
