The Los Angeles Clippers have been facing issues regarding the availability of their star player, Kawhi Leonard. Leonard has missed four games this week due to a right knee inflammation issue that he has been dealing with since the past weekend. However, the Clippers are on a three-game win streak without their centerpiece and would like to continue their run to get the red hot Dallas Mavericks off their backs.
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For the upcoming game against the Phoenix Suns tonight, Leonard has been added to the injury report. His situation still seems precarious because his status in the latest injury report for the road game at Footprint Center has been listed as ‘Out’. Kawhi Leonard will miss his fifth straight game tonight because of his right knee inflammation.
This injury, however, shouldn’t be a concern in the long run for the Clippers, especially for their upcoming postseason campaign. LA’s head coach Ty Lue recently told reporters ahead of Sunday’s matchup against the Cleveland Cavaliers that he is not concerned about his forward’s knee injury. He trusts that Leonard can be expected to return in good health to lead the Clippers for the remainder of the season and the postseason.
On the other hand, Suns Center Jusuf Nurkic is listed as ‘questionable’ for the Clippers game because of a right ankle sprain. However, the rest of the Suns squad (excluding Damion Lee) are slated to appear for tonight’s game. The Clippers also have concerns over their backup big, Daniel Theis, who is also listed as questionable with a sprained left thumb.
Nevertheless, the battle between the Clippers and the Suns could be tightly contested. The two Western Conference rivals will face each other back-to-back, as they are also slated for another game in Los Angeles on Wednesday night.
The Clippers have much to look forward to for their postseason campaign
The Los Angeles Clippers have shown glimpses of hope and possibility to emerge as one of the best teams going into the playoffs from the Western Conference. Though acquiring James Harden was greatly criticized by critics and the media, Harden perfectly fit within the Clippers’ system. In fact, the Clips even emerged on top of the Western Conference table for a brief while.
However, of late, the LA side hasn’t been the well-oiled machinery that it looked for the most part of the season. However, Clippers’ veteran point guard Russell Westbrook believes that the team can work on many aspects and improve instead of pointing fingers and playing the blame game. Perhaps, once Kawhi Leonard returns ahead of the postseason, the Clippers can work on their tandem more comfortably.
