The Clippers ruled Kawhi Leonard out of Game 3 against the Suns on Thursday with a right knee sprain. Here’s what you need to know:
- It was the same knee injury Leonard sustained in the 2021 playoffs and later surgically repaired, costing him the 2022 season.
- Leonard played 39 minutes—including much of the fourth quarter—in Los Angeles’ Game 2 loss, scoring a team-high 31 points.
- The Clippers and Suns are tied at 1-1 entering Game 3.
The Clippers have officially disqualified Kawhi Leonard with a sprained right knee.
It is the same knee that was surgically repaired in July 2021.
– Lou Murray ❎️ (@LawMurrayTheNU) April 20, 2023
the athleteInstant Analysis:
What does that mean for clippers?
Leonard’s ruling by the Clippers for a sprained right knee prior to Game 3 has several ramifications. The team ruled Leonard out after a shootout Thursday morning at the training facility. It’s eerily similar to how the Clippers were already without Leonard at last year’s Play-In in Minnesota, then came home to find out that Paul George had been left out on the day of the final game against the New Orleans Pelicans due to health and safety protocols.
It’s a sudden shutdown, which leaves the team with less time to prepare. While team sources have told me there isn’t the same level of concern for Leonard now as there was when Leonard was injured in the 2021 postseason, that doesn’t mean much for the series. Ironically, George actually walked out again with a sprained right knee. Injury to George was the best-case scenario given contact, and he has been out for 30 days. Expecting a healthy Leonard to return in this series seems like a long shot. – Murray
Who will Los Angeles count on with Leonard out?
Right now, the Clippers have to try and win a game against the Phoenix Suns. And that will start with Russell Westbrook, the only star left. The Clippers played one game with Westbrook and without George or Leonard. That match was in Memphis on March 29, when Leonard was disqualified prior to the match due to personal reasons. Westbrook scored a season-high 36 points, tallying all five of his points, while adding 10 assists in a 141-132 win over a Grizzlies that had Ja Morant but without Defensive Player of the Year Yaren Jackson Jr. 3s in that game; So far in the two games against the Suns in this series, the Clippers have made only 21 3s.
The Clippers will need Norman Powell to step up as a primary source of offense, and forwards Marcus Morris Sr. and Robert Covington look set to be introduced to the Series. Morris’s physical presence would be needed, but Morris had not played since 25 March and had difficulty hitting the ball for several months. He is healthy now though. Covington has been in and out of rotation all season due to a surplus of Clippers players, but that luxury doesn’t exist now. Covington made all 7 of his 3 in that game on March 29th in Memphis and has the height and active hands that can make a difference defensively. – Murray
Likely to start?
The Clippers will likely start Terance Mann with Westbrook, Nicolas Batum, Ivica Zubac, and Eric Gordon, and use a second unit that includes Powell, Mason Plumlee, and Bones Hyland, with at least one Morris or Covington mixed in. Leonard’s absence hurts Clippers at both ends of the earth, but in a particularly offensive way. The Clippers will need 3 more seconds and play as fast as they can to make up for Leonard’s absence. But it’s another sad development in this franchise era that has seen Leonard miss postseason games every season since the 2020 debacle in the bubble. – Murray
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(Photo: Mark J. Rebellas/USA Today)