Kawhi Leonard is in the midst of a multi-game absence with a knee injury, but it does not quite appear to be cause for alarm just yet.
The LA Clippers star Leonard was ruled out for Friday’s game against the Utah Jazz, the second end of a back-to-back. He also missed the Clippers’ loss on Tuesday to the Sacramento Kings and their win on Thursday over the Denver Nuggets. The Clippers initially listed Leonard out with “right knee soreness” but it has now been changed to “right knee inflammation.”
In the aftermath of Leonard being ruled out for Friday’s game, Clippers reporter Tomer Azarly shared a notable update on the situation. Azarly reports that Leonard underwent a precautionary MRI upon returning to Los Angeles (the team played Sunday in Charlotte and Tuesday in Sacramento). The MRI reportedly did not show anything that would cause the Clippers significant concern. Azarly adds that Leonard isn’t expected to be out long enough to endanger his playoff availability.
The two-time Finals MVP Leonard has actually been quite durable for the Clippers this season, appearing in 68 of 76 games and often playing in back-to-back sets. He has played enough games to meet the criteria for All-NBA consideration (65), and the Clippers seem potentially locked into the No. 4 seed in the West (with a two-game lead and the tiebreaker over the No. 5 seed Dallas Mavericks with several games against .500 or below opponents left). That means that both Leonard and the Clippers can afford to exercise caution here.
It was the right knee that Leonard tore his ACL in back in 2021, and he is notoriously unpredictable when it comes to injuries. But for now, it seems like Clippers fans can breathe a slight sigh of relief with the regular season winding down.
