The LA Clippers have ruled All-Star power forward Kawhi Leonard out for Game 4 due to right knee inflammation, and president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank said there is no timetable for Leonard to return.
“When’s he coming back? Can’t tell you a timeline,” Frank said before Game 4 Sunday, expressing that the organization made the decision to shut Leonard down. “I wish I had a crystal ball. It will just basically, until he can show that he can make all the movements that he needs to make, that’s when he will come back. That will be the time frame.”
Leonard did not play in Game 1, the last of nine consecutive games he missed after playing in Charlotte on March 31. In Game 2, Leonard started and played 34:55, struggling with his shot (0-for-5 shooting from 3- point range) and scoring only 15 points on 7-of-17 shooting in a Clippers loss. Frank said “some of the swelling came back” in Leonard’s knee, but the team was comfortable with the amount of swelling.
Still, the Clippers adjusted and reduced Leonard’s minutes and role after listing him as questionable for Game 3. Leonard only played 24:32 and was even more limited, scoring just 9 points on 4-of-7 field goals and failing to attempt a 3 while turning the ball over four times in a Mavericks win.
“Just didn’t respond the way we wanted after the first game,” Leonard said of his knee and Game 3 performance. “I wanted to be on the floor to help the team. And that’s what the results are. Frustrated that it happened to me this late in the season. But we’re going to keep going, we’re going to get it right.”
In the short term, the Clippers will do what they did in Game 1: start Amir Coffey and rely on All-Star small forward Paul George and starting point guard James Harden. The Clippers made 18 3s in a Game 1 win while holding the Mavericks to eight points in the second quarter, enabling them to take a 29-point lead early in the second half. The Clippers have made only 18 3s combined in the losses in Games 2 and 3 of this series, while George has struggled with foul trouble.
Game 4 will be the 11th playoff game that Leonard has missed since joining the Clippers in 2019, and that does not include missing both Play-In Tournament games in 2022, a season he missed entirely due to ACL surgery. Clippers coach Tyronn Lue thanked Leonard for trying to play, but suggested his team will be ready to not just win Game 4, but win the series.
“It’s definitely devastating for Kawhi, all the work he’s put in this year and the amount of games he’s played,” Lue said. “Worked hard to get to this point to a place he wants to be in the playoffs. And then to be hurt and not be able to be 100 percent and play the way he’s capable of playing, it’s very frustrating for him. I feel bad for him.
“But we’ve played without Kawhi before. We can’t hang our heads. We understand what it takes, what we have to do, how we need to play. The blueprint. And we prepared for both situations. I just thank Kawhi for just trying to get out there and try to do what he can. But like I said, this team is prepared both ways, whether Kawhi played or didn’t play. And so we’re up for the challenge tonight and we’ll be ready to go today.”
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(Photo: Tim Heitman / NBAE via Getty Images)
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