Injury-plagued Los Angeles Clippers star forward Kawhi Leonard has remained pretty healthy throughout the 2023-24 season. In fact, he’s played in 68 of a possible 76 games heading into Friday’s outing against the Utah Jazz.
Unfortunately, the two-time NBA Finals MVP has also missed each of the past two games due to a right knee injury. He has now already been ruled out for Friday’s matchup against Utah with what the Clippers are describing as “inflammation.”
There are short-term consequences to Leonard missing a third consecutive game. There are also long-term ramifications and his injury history to look at.
First off, the Clippers find themselves at 48-28 on the season and as the fourth seed in the Western Conference. They are three games ahead of the New Orleans Pelicans in an attempt to avoid the NBA Play-In Tournament.
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- Kawhi Leonard stats (2023-24): 23.7 PPG, 6.1 RPG, 3.6 APG, 52.5% shooting
Los Angeles has games coming up against the Cleveland Cavaliers, Phoenix Suns (two) and Houston Rockets to close up the regular season. While the team is still likely going to avoid the play-in tournament, it’s no longer a foregone conclusion.
Dating back to the 2021 NBA Playoffs, Leonard has appeared in just two of the Clippers’ past 18 postseason games due to a multitude of injuries. That’s not what we’d call reliable.
This latest injury doesn’t necessarily seem to be severe. But as we’ve seen with Leonard throughout his career, that doesn’t mean a short-term absence.
All of this comes with the Clippers at a mere 13-12 in their past 25 games and the team potentially mired in some major drama behind the scenes.