- After missing Monday’s loss to Miami with a non-COVID illness, Kawhi Leonard is no longer on the Clippers‘ injury report for Thursday’s contest in Denver, tweets Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN. Paul George, who tweaked his hamstring on Monday, is listed as questionable, while Nicolas Batum is out with a left ankle sprain.
- Can Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue find lineups that work whether or not Leonard and/or George are in the lineup? Law Murray of The Athletic explores that topic, writing that if Lue is unable to optimize the current group, trades could be in order for a team that hopes to compete for a championship.
Clippers forward Paul George was limited to playing just five minutes in the fourth quarter of Monday’s loss to Miami after tweaking his right hamstring, writes Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN.
George said after the game that he’ll receive treatment on the injury on Tuesday and see how it responds. It remains to be seen whether he’ll be available for the team’s brief road trip to Denver on Thursday and Minnesota on Friday.
As Youngmisuk observes, George missed seven games in late November and early December after straining that same right hamstring, so it has been a recurring issue this season for the Clippers star.
“Often hamstrings are very, very serious injuries,” George said on Monday, per Youngmisuk. “So, I thought the first approach when I was dealing with my hamstring (during the previous absence) was just good, smart. We waited until it felt better and I didn’t have any issues, once I returned. “We won’t know more until (Tuesday). But my job is to do the best that I can and go from there.”
The Clippers have been relatively cautious this season with health issues, especially those affecting George and Kawhi Leonard, who missed Monday’s game due to a non-COVID illness. The team is taking the long view and its top priority to be at full strength entering the postseason, so we likely won’t see George or Leonard back in action until they’re feeling 100% or very close to it.
- Kawhi Leonard is listed as questionable for the Clippers’ game against Miami on Monday due to a non-COVID illness, Andrew Greif of the Los Angeles Times tweets. Leonard has averaged 23.2 points in his last four games.
- Nicolas Batum‘s goal of playing all 82 games this season ended when he sat out Saturday with a sprained ankle, but the Clippers forward is proud of his durability at age 34, writes Janis Carr of The Orange County Register. Batum credits daily weightlifting sessions, workouts and practices with keeping him in top condition. “If I got some injury stuff, I take care of it,” he said. “I don’t want to miss practice. I haven’t missed practice or shootaround yet this year, so I try to be there as much as possible every time. It’s just the routine I have just to take care of my body to be there for my team.”
Perhaps the most encouraging news for the Clippers in recent weeks is that their biggest star, Kawhi Leonard, appears to be rounding into form, Andrew Greif of the Los Angeles Times notes. Though his minutes are still somewhat limited, Leonard has averaged 23.2 points and 35.0 minutes in four games during the team’s current road trip.
“As far as explosiveness, I don’t think that’s all the way back yet or as far as trusting it all the way right now. But just his decision-making, his timing of getting to his spots and getting to his shot and I think his timing of making passes when teams are double-teaming, making the right read in the right play, that’s really good,” Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said.
Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard has been playing under a minutes restriction all season while returning from a partially torn ACL, but that appears to have been lifted, tweets Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times. Leonard logged 35 minutes Saturday afternoon at Indiana after playing 37 and 35 in the team’s past two games, meaning he’s basically back on a regular schedule.
“Still moving up the right track, feeling healthy still and that’s what it’s about,” Leonard said after the game. “Just keep getting better.”
Coach Tyronn Lue didn’t confirm that Leonard’s minutes limit is gone, but he said the increased availability is welcome because it allows him to stagger Leonard and Paul George and keep at least one star on the court throughout the game.
There’s more injury news to pass along:
- Suns forward Cameron Johnson appears to be getting closer to a return after having meniscus surgery on November 8, tweets Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic, who posted a video of Johnson running before Friday night’s game.
- Darius Garland, who suffered a sprained right thumb late in Thursday’s game, will miss the Cavaliers‘ contest on Saturday night in Chicago, according to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. Garland has been receiving treatment for the injury since it happened, Fedor adds. Cleveland will also be without big man Evan Mobley, who is missing his first game of the season because of soreness in his right ankle. Lamar Stevens and Kevin Love will start in their place, giving the Cavs their 17th different starting lineup in 37 games.
- Knicks guard Jalen Brunson will miss his third straight game with a hip injury tonight in Houston, tweets Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News. The Rockets will be without starting center Alperen Sengun, who is suffering lower back pain, according to Mark Berman of Fox 26 in Houston (Twitter link).
- Both Grange and Lewenberg explored what it meant to have Clippers forwards Kawhi Leonard and Norman Powell – two members of the Raptors’ 2019 championship team – back in the building on Tuesday. Despite Leonard’s reputation for being “notoriously stoic,” even the former Finals MVP was feeling a little nostalgic, according to Grange. With the Clippers still managing his knee, Leonard was given the choice of sitting out Monday’s game in Detroit or Tuesday in Toronto — he opted to face the Raptors. “It’s always great memories coming in this arena,” Kawhi said. “And if I was going to sit a game I’d rather give the fans in Toronto a chance to see me play again.”
Knicks forward Obi Toppin is still in the early stages of rehab from his right leg injury, according to Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News.
Toppin, who has not played since Dec. 7, said his workouts are limited to spot-up shooting, pool work and upper-body weightlifting. The Knicks’ primary backup to Julius Randle will need “couple more reevaluations” before returning from the fractured bone in his leg.
“Not really any pain, but I could not feel pain and it could still be messed up,” Toppin said. “So it’s all up to [the Knicks’ medical staff]. Whenever they feel I should be back, that’s when I’ll come back.”
We have more from the Atlantic Division:
- Randle caused a stir, particularly among Knicks fans, when he sat in the front row of Mavericks-Jazz playoff game last spring. Randle was accompanied by Knicks executives William Wesley and Alan Houston, but Randle insists they weren’t there to be seen by potential acquisitions Jalen Brunson and Donovan Mitchell. Randle, who lives in the Dallas area, claimed Tuesday it was just a coincidence, Bondy writes. “I didn’t even know [Wesley and Houston] were in town,” he said. “Just so happened to happen like that.”
- Former Raptors champion and current Clippers forward Norman Powell returned to Toronto on Tuesday for the first time since Feb. 28, 2020, Law Murray of The Athletic tweets. The Raptors were on a road trip when the pandemic hit and then played in the Orlando bubble before spending the next season in Tampa, with Powell traded to Portland midway through that year. He was inactive for the Trail Blazers’ game in Toronto last season and was dealt to the Clippers after Los Angeles had already played there.
- The Celtics still don’t plan to remove the interim tag from Joe Mazzulla before the end of the season, according to Adam Himmelbach of the Boston Globe. Ime Udoka‘s suspension is due to end in June. Mazzulla, who missed Tuesday’s game due to eye irritation, according to Jared Weiss (Twitter link), may have been given some assurances about his future privately by the front office. It’s expected that Mazzulla will be retained as the head coach after the season.
- With the Clippers playing on back-to-back nights, Kawhi Leonard will be held out Monday at Detroit due to injury management for his right knee, tweets Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN. Leonard is expected to face his old team on Tuesday in Toronto.
Veteran wing Nicolas Batum has continued to play a regular role off the bench for the Clippers this season, but he’s not taking it for granted. Before being bought out by Charlotte during the 2020 offseason, Batum had been relegated to a bench role and believed his playing days were nearing an end, writes Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times.
“Two years ago, I didn’t think I would be in that spot today still playing major minutes, have a role for a contending team, no,” Batum said. “I was more about retirement.”
Batum quickly caught on with the Clippers in 2020 once he became a free agent and has since signed two new contracts with the team, including a two-year, $22.6MM deal this past summer. Now 34 years old, he doesn’t envision retiring anytime soon.
“After what happened to me in Charlotte I promised myself, especially with the French national team, I’m like … ‘I’m going to do everything so I will retire the way I want,'” Batum said. “That’s the attitude I have now. Going to keep working and I mean, they’re going to have to kick me out. Good luck with that.”
Here are a few more notes on the NBA’s two Los Angeles-based teams:
- Clippers sharpshooter Luke Kennard is leading the NBA with a career-best .489 3PT%, but is only tied for 106th in the league in three-point makes, since he attempts just 4.2 per game. Janis Carr of The Southern California News Group explores whether Kennard should be more aggressive in seeking out his shot.
- Lakers guard Russell Westbrook, who has missed the team’s last two games due to left foot soreness, is listed as probable to return on Friday vs. Charlotte, tweets Marc Stein. LeBron James, who sat out Monday’s game in Phoenix with left ankle soreness and returned on Wednesday in Sacramento, has also been designated as probable.
- Like Westbook, Lakers guard Austin Reaves (right ankle sprain) has been sidelined for the last two games, but he also has a chance to return on Friday. He has been listed as questionable, per Stein.
- Although Thomas Bryant has played well at center in Anthony Davis‘ stead, the Lakers have no adequate substitute on defense for their injured star, writes Kyle Goon of The Southern California News Group. Since Davis went down last week with a foot injury, the club has the second-worst defensive rating in the NBA (124.5). “We’re already a team without a lot of length and not a lot of size,” James said. “And you lose a 6-11 guy with a 7-6 wingspan, 7-7 wingspan, I mean, it’s self-explanatory, so it’s not like it’s rocket science.”