Kawhi Leonard came off the bench against the Lakers for his first game over a year, but will he play tonight?
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The Los Angeles Clippers kicked off their 2022-23 campaign on the best note. For their season opener, they took on their LA counterparts, the Lakers. After a well-fought battle, the Clippers emerged on top, 103-97.
The contest was brutal but a welcome sight for the Clippers fans. They got to see Kawhi Leonard back on the court. He missed the entire 2021-22 season after he suffered a knee injury during the 2021 Playoffs.
The Clippers had six players who scored in double digits as it was a team effort to win the Battle of L.A. Kawhi came off the bench as a precaution taken by the coaching and medical staff. However, that leaves people asking, will he play tonight?
Is Kawhi Leonard playing tonight?
The Los Angeles Clippers’ star came off the bench as the 11th man for the team on Thursday. As expected, Leonard was on a minutes restriction, and he played only 21 minutes in the contest. However, Kawhi recorded 14 points, seven rebounds, two assists, and a steal in that time.
After the outing on Thursday, it was likely the coaching staff wouldn’t want to exhaust Leonard too much at the start of the season and risk another injury. In the report issued by the team, we can see Kahwi has been rested for the game against the Kings tonight.
It’s too early in the season and there really isn’t any such pressure, so it makes sense of the team to ease Kawhi back into action.
What can be expected from Kawhi this season?
During the 2020-21 season, the Clippers were looking like the favorites to win it all, till Kawhi got injured. In his absence, the Clippers made it to the play-in game last season. During this time, they have also worked on their bench depth. As of now, the Clippers have the deepest bench in the NBA. In the offseason, they also signed 5x All-Star John Wall.
With all the pieces around him and Paul George, Kawhi understands he’s not pressurized to show up every night. However, using this freedom, Kawhi would like to stay ready for the big moments, and show up then. We can expect him to return to his All-Star form as soon as his minutes restrictions are lifted.
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