The Los Angeles Clippers are set to kickstart their playoff campaign with a blockbuster clash against the Dallas Mavericks in the very first round. Amid the anticipation surrounding this first-round series, the availability of Kawhi Leonard has continued to be a massive cause for concern. On top of this, a recent cryptic statement from Paul George only raised more question marks over the status of ‘The Klaw’.
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As per the latest injury report from NBA.com, Leonard is still dealing with right knee inflammation at the moment. This condition often leads to a swollen knee, resulting in instability, stiffness, and severe pain for the patient. Consequently, the 32-year-old has been listed as ‘Questionable’ for Game 1 of the series.
The concern around him only grew following George’s pre-game conference. The 33-year-old hinted that despite how much the Clippers may need him, Leonard may be unable to feature in Game 1. Per Joey Linn, the following is what he said on the matter.
“He [Kawhi Leonard] is working hard. He is doing everything he can to be available. We all see it. The work he is putting in. When he is ready, he’ll be ready”.
Despite what he hinted at initially, the Clipper admitted that the franchise is doing whatever it can to have its lead star on the floor. Team President, Lawrence Frank, even declared the following, per Tomer Azarly.
“Our medical staff is doing everything to get the inflammation down so he can play. Progress has been made…the inflammation needs to continue to reduce so he can do functional basketball movements. We’re hopeful it’s going to get there”.
Team Head Coach, Tyronn Lue, expressed a similar viewpoint publicly. Yet, the 46-year-old failed to provide a clearer update on Leonard’s availability in Game 1. This only added to the cloud of doubt surrounding the player’s availability ahead of Game 1. Yet, given time, if all goes well, the superstar could progress closer to probable for this game.
Despite the worrying signs, Leonard remains on track to feature in the series by Game 2. However, the franchise desires to have him available from the start of the series, indicating their dependency on the 6x All-Star. After all, as per StatMuse, the Clippers maintained a 7-7 run without their talisman this season, losing each of their last three such games.
So, the organization certainly needs its talisman present on the court to be truly lethal on both ends. Alongside being the best defender on the team, the roster’s offensive strategy also relied on him to a large extent. His regular season average of 23.7 points, 6.1 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 1.6 steals, and 0.9 blocks per game, as per StatMuse, captured precisely that.
That’s why, the franchise refuses to rule him out entirely for the upcoming clash. At this point, it has become a race against time with the team hoping for the best in the next few hours. Hopefully, the star can indeed come back in time to fight it out from the very beginning of the battle.
