Clippers’ Kawhi Leonard will miss second straight playoff game as ruled out for Game 4 against Suns with right knee injury
- Leonard has a sprained right knee – the same injury that has sidelined Paul George
- Leonard injured his knee in Game 1, but played through it in Game 2, scoring 31 points
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Kawhi Leonard will miss Game 4 for the Clippers against the Phoenix Suns, leaving Los Angeles without its superstar for a second straight playoff game.
Leonard has a sprained right knee, the same injury that has sidelined teammate Paul George since March 21. The Suns lead the best-of-seven series 2-1, with Game 4 on Saturday in Los Angeles.
As Leonard watched from the bench, Norman Powell scored 42 points and Russell Westbrook added 30 points and 12 assists in a five-point loss on Thursday night.
Leonard, who has been labeled “one of the worst superstars” ever by ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith, hurt his knee in Game 1 and played through it in Game 2, but his condition worsened. He missed all of last season while recovering from a torn right cruciate ligament.
On Friday, Clippers president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank told the Los Angeles Times that Leonard “desperately, desperately wants to play.”
Clippers’ Kawhi Leonard, in yellow, saw his team lose Game 2 to the Suns on Wednesday
Leonard averaged 34.5 points, 6.5 rebounds and six assists in the first two games of the series against Phoenix
“He’s very disappointed. Everything he puts into the game, I’ve never seen a player put so much into his craft.’
Leonard averaged 34.5 points, 6.5 rebounds and six assists in the first two games against the Suns.
He played just 52 games in each of the past two healthy seasons (2020-21 and 2022-23), though he remained energetic when available, averaging 23.8 points and 6.5 rebounds this past season, while he shot 51.2 percent from the field and 41.6 percent. percent from behind the arch.
Leonard’s injury status isn’t the only one closely followed by Los Angeles. Paul George, who has not played for the Clippers since March 21, is still recovering from a sprained right knee. He is expected to miss all of the first round against the Suns.
Paul George (L) has not played for the Clippers since March 21 and is also a big miss for LA
The Clippers are piling up injuries at the worst possible time after finishing the regular season as the Western Conference’s fifth seed.
With injuries to its two superstars, the franchise has not been able to glue it all together or stay healthy enough to compete for an NBA Championship in the four seasons that George and Leonard have spent in Los Angeles (2019-present) have played.
With Game 5 on Tuesday, Leonard may return to Phoenix after a week of rest.