Clippers’ Kawhi Leonard out for Game 3 against the Suns


Fate has come for Kawhi Leonard.

Destiny has come for Kawhi Leonard.
Picture: Getty Photographs

The poor Los Angeles Clippers don’t have any luck. In 2019, they acquired what gave the impression to be the proper tandem in Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. The Clippers are presently the No. 5 seed within the Western Convention and tied 1-1 with the Phoenix Suns in a first-round playoff collection. On Thursday evening at residence, they are going to be with out each George and Leonard.

ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk reported that Leonard can be out for Recreation 3 with a sprained knee. It’s the similar knee through which Leonard suffered a torn ACL throughout the 2021 playoffs. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski is reporting that Leonard’s present damage shouldn’t be associated to the earlier one.

George has been out of the lineup since late March after struggling a knee damage. There’s no definitive timetable for his return, however he’s anticipated to stay in road garments for your entire first spherical.

The Clippers are stymied by damage once more

In 2019, the Clippers have been certainly one of a number of groups who went all in to aim to construct a championship roster on the fly. They traded seemingly 2022-23 NBA All First-Staff guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and 5 unprotected first-round draft picks to the Oklahoma Metropolis Thunder for George. The Clippers signed Leonard shortly afterwards. The Los Angeles Lakers traded away starters and picks to accumulate Anthony Davis. The Brooklyn Nets signed Kevin Durant.

Thus far the strikes have solely paid off for the Lakers, who received the muted bubble championship of 2020 — and have produced extra drama than profitable since. Durant presently performs for the Suns, and the Clippers are caught. The one postseason through which George and Leonard have been wholesome your entire time was the Clippers 2020 choke job within the bubble. Quick ahead to

2023, in a house playoff sport that they desperately have to win, neither participant is on the ground.

Even when Leonard can play once more on this collection, there’s a good likelihood that this knee problem won’t be a one sport prevalence. The Clippers nonetheless don’t know when/if George will return, and so they don’t have a primary spherical draft decide till 2027.

They adopted the wave in 2019, and had higher hope that in some unspecified time in the future both this season or subsequent that George and Leonard can get out of the water and again on their surfboards. If not, that new Intuit Dome can be mighty quiet for the foreseeable future.