The Los Angeles Clippers have been without star forward Kawhi Leonard since he suffered a knee injury back on March 31 against the Charlotte Hornets.
There had been an open question about when the two-time NBA Finals MVP would be able to return to the court. He missed Game 1 of the first-round NBA Playoff series against the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday after sitting out the final eight regular-season games.
We now have some good news on this front for fans in Los Angeles. Leonard is available to go for Game 2 against the Mavericks Tuesday evening. He also looked pretty good going through pre-game warmups in Southern California.
- Kawhi Leonard stats (2023-24): 23.7 PPG, 6.1 RPG, 3.6 APG, 53% shooting, 42% 3-point
It’s true that Los Angeles was able to take out Dallas at home in Game 1 without Leonard in the mix. It held the Mavericks to a mere 30 points in the first half and held off the road team by the score of 109-97.
In no way does this mean that Leonard is not valuable to the Clippers and their success. They were 7-7 with him sidelined during the regular season while boasting a 44-24 mark with the wing on the court. Dating back to the start of the 2022-23 campaign, Los Angeles is 17-25 when Leonard does not suit up.