Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue has confirmed that All-Star wing Kawhi Leonard will remain sidelined for Game 2 of L.A.’s Western Conference Finals series against the Suns, tweets Mark Medina of USA Today. Leonard has been unavailable since the closeout Game 6 of the Clippers’ second-round series against the Jazz with a right knee sprain.
While Leonard is unable to contribute on the court, he continues to stay engaged with the Clippers from afar, Medina writes for USA Today. Lue said that Leonard helped the club make some key halftime adjustments to beat the Jazz in Game 6.
“He came into the coaches’ office, just talking about different strategies,” Lue said. “He just wanted to know our game plan, how we are going to start, what’s our coverages and things like that. So he’s very engaged.”
Clippers center Ivica Zubac also said that Leonard remains involved with the club, and continues to text the team in a group chat thread while they’re on the road in Phoenix and in-person in Los Angeles, tweets Andrew Greif of the Los Angeles Times.
Lue has stated previously that he hopes Leonard can rejoin the Clippers on the court at some point during the series, but is game-planning as if the All-NBA forward will be unavailable.
The team is also missing nominal starting center Serge Ibaka, done for the postseason after undergoing back surgery earlier this month. The status of big man Marcus Morris ahead of tomorrow’s Game 2 remains up in the air, Medina also noted. Lue said that Morris is “getting treatment around the clock,” but “is still experiencing soreness.” Morris suffered a knee injury in the first of Game 1, a 120-114 Suns victory.
So, for all of us betters out there…when is he coming back? Zero heath updates as far as to whether it be a week or done for the year.
Call it.
Is he in a boot? A knee brace? On crutches? Walking with a limp? Any journalists got eyes on him since his injury?
Out for the year.
The darkest, most cynical part of me thinks they’re hiding a serious ACL injury, but if nothing else, he’s missed going on 5 games, on the “he may be back any day now” program where the only update in the story is he has ideas on how the team should play without him.
He won’t be hitting free agency.
Why would they hide an ACL tear, that’s a certain season ender?
When a team is less than forthright in this situation it’s usually to put the worst case out there to reduce expectations, so as to take pressure off the player to return too soon and treat an eventual return as an unexpected boost.
Of course, the Clips aren’t usual. Maybe this is part of Lue’s secret plan to sucker the NBA world into believing the Clips are a team with no identity or structure, from whom little is to be expected.
I think if they go down 2 he’s back for game 3 in a limited capacity. Back game 4 either way.
A week. Which could be the year.
if it is a week it will be a year. Suns might dispatch them easy even with Kawhi. and I dont say that as an anti-Clippers thing – its pro-Suns.
Opinions – had the Clippers/Suns series gone seven, would Kawhi have played?
I don’t think he comes back at all this year –
Ballmer avoided the huge crisis of losing early and losing KL to free agency most likely already
It’s all house money from here and the future (which probably counts more than a ship this year ) to Ballmer is still fully in tact – That matters a lot considering the Clippers move and uphill battle to ever gain fans in their own backyard. Subjecting KL and Uncle Dennis into an injury this year is probably the easiest route to losing KL today
:/ :D. Kawhi is using private doctors that he swore to secrecy. He’s not telling! Gonna ghost all those pale fans!
He has been playing. He disguised himself by wearing Mann’s uniform.