Why isn’t Kawhi Leonard playing against the Nuggets today, March 4?
The Los Angeles Clippers host the Denver Nuggets in a crucial battle for playoff positioning, but there will be considerable star power missing tonight.
With just a week and a half left in the NBA’s regular season, each and every game matters as the playoff race heats up. The Denver Nuggets are in Los Angeles to take on the Clippers for a crucial battle in the Western Conference, but the home team will have to face the defending champions without their top scorer tonight from Crypto.com Arena.
Kawhi out back to back games
The Clippers return home and will be without Kawhi Leonard for at least another night, as he continues to recover from a sore knee. Leonard missed LA’s last game against the Sacramento Kings, and will sit out a second straight game as the Nuggets visit town.
Los Angeles has seen Leonard spend lengthy spells on sideline over the last few years, so they will want to make sure he is in tip top shape for the Clippers postseason run. Kawhi was forced to sit out the 2020/21 playoffs and missed the entire next season with knee injuries, so Tyronn Lue is going to air on the side of caution.
West coming down to wire
The Clippers are in the thick of the playoff race for home court advantage in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs. While seeding is going to be vital, they want to make sure they have their star as healthy as possible going into the playoffs.
Coming into tonight, LA currently holds the fourth spot in the West, which would earn them home court advantage for at least the first round of the playoffs. It’s a long shot to catch up to the Nuggets and the rest of the top three in the conference, but have a two game cushion on Dallas and a two and a half game lead over Phoenix and New Orleans.
Tonight’s game is the front end of a back-to-back series for LA who will host the Utah Jazz tomorrow night at Crypto.com Arena.