NBA
Kawhi Leonard's injury update: how long could he be out?
The LA Clippers have announced that their star player Kawhi Leonard will sit out game five against the Jazz this Wednesday. The series is tied 2-2.
Kawhi Leonard's injury update: how long could he be out?
The LA Clippers have announced that their star player Kawhi Leonard will sit out game five against the Jazz this Wednesday.
The NBA playoffs will continue tonight when the Clippers face the Jazz on game five of a tied series at 2-2 for each team. The injury for Kawhi Leonard came, apparently, when in, game four he made a drive to the basket, and at the moment of landing, he suffered a twist. The Clippers player tried to finish the game but eventually had to be subbed out.
This is not the first knee injury for Leonard. He suffered a right knee injury back in 2017. At that time, it was a quad tendon problem. More tests have to be performed to know the severity of this new issue for the Clippers' player, who after the game did not want to chat about it and told the press he was feeling fine. There is no timetable for his return.
Can the Clippers win without him?
The LA team was two games down on this series, similar to the series with the Mavs, and have been able to tie it thanks to a fantastic Kawhi Leonard, the Western MVP for this postseason, putting some incredible numbers.
Leonard is not only a great offensive player who has been putting 30+ PTS for the Clippers, but he is also one of the best defensive players of the league, an All-Defensive second team for this season. Kawhi is excellent at shutting down team stars, thanks to his physical dominance of the court. For example, in 2014, he was able to shut down LeBron James while at Spurs.
The Utah Jazz is an excellent defensive team, and they have one of the shooting games of the league, hence why a Clippers team without a Kawhi Leonard will suffer to put up points. The last time they met in the league, the LA team lost by eighteen points.