However, there is “really not a time frame” for the return of the LA Clippers star at this time, as Kawhi Leonard has been putting in work on his own as well. Leonard sat out Sunday night’s game against the Utah Jazz because the Clippers are still managing his right knee ailment.
The two-time NBA Finals MVP will also likely miss Monday’s matchup with the Cavaliers, and his return to action is questionable. When asked if Leonard’s health is more week-to-week than day-to-day now, Clippers head coach Ty Lue stated, “There’s not a time range of when he is going to be back.” We’re just handling it daily for the time being; there’s no particular timeframe.
Clippers will have to meet the Cavaliers on Monday without Leonard
“The biggest thing is just the tests he needs to go through with the medics and the slow pace of getting better every day.” There is a good chance that the Clippers will have to meet the Cavaliers on Monday without Leonard, and they may also be without a natural point guard due to injury.
After banging his left knee with Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Clippers starter Reggie Jackson sat out the final 18+ minutes of the team’s 110-102 loss to Utah. Jackson, who was seen limping with a wrapped left knee in the locker room after the game, is optimistic that he can play and does not believe an MRI is necessary.
After scoring 12 points and dishing out six assists in 28 minutes against Utah, John Wall will not play against the Clippers because the team insists on sitting him for at least one game of every back-to-back set. On occasion, Luke Kennard handles the ball off the bench, but he was sidelined Sunday due to chest pains.
If Jackson is out, Paul George will likely start at point guard. George has described the Clippers’ inconsistent start to the season as “a work in progress.” The good news is that it’s still early in the season, and I’m confident this team will find its stride and start playing its best basketball when it needs to. We’re just going through those growing pains now.
“Now we’ll have another lineup, a different rotation tomorrow with John being out, possibly Reggie being out, not sure the status of Luke,” said the coach. A reserve for the Clippers’ first three games, Leonard saw action in two of them, averaging 21 minutes per game.
At a morning shootaround before the Clippers’ October 25 game in Oklahoma City, Leonard experienced stiffness in his surgically repaired right knee. Leonard sat out the whole 2022–2023 season when he tore his right ACL in the second round, Game 4 against Utah, on June 14, 2021.
Lue remarked, “He is making good progress. We are going to follow the direction of our medical staff, we got to be cautious about the situation, but he is making good progress. We knew coming off an ACL wasn’t going to be a straight line. We talked about it before the season. What matters most is that he is doing well and improving.”
