Star forward Kawhi Leonard and the Los Angeles Clippers are battling for their playoff lives with just six games remaining in the regular season.
Already without fellow star Paul George due to a knee sprain, Leonard has been ruled out for Wednesday’s huge Western Conference tilt against the Memphis Grizzlies.
Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue told reporters ahead of the game that Leonard’s absence is due to personal reasons.
We’re not going to speculate what’s happening behind the scenes. As with Andrew Wiggins missing the Golden State Warriors’ past 20 games, this is a personal issue for Kawhi Leonard. Speculating about what is happening behind the scenes makes no sense.
But from an on-court standpoint, this is absolutely huge news in the Western Conference Playoff race. Los Angeles has lost its last seven games when Leonard did not suit up. Thus far this season, the team is 10-19 when Leonard is sidelined.
- Kawhi Leonard stats (2022-23): 23.6 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 4.0 APG, 51% shooting, 41% 3-point
Without Leonard and George in the mix, Los Angeles will be tasked with taking on a Grizzlies team that returns Ja Morant after he missed a game to injury.
The Clippers find themselves at 40-36 on the season. They are just a half game up on the Golden State Warriors for the fifth seed. Heck, Los Angeles only has a three-game safety net to avoid missing out on postseason basketball altogether. Hence, why Kawhi Leonard sitting out one game at this stage in the regular season is a big deal.