The news every Clippers fan has been waiting for is finally here, as Kawhi Leonard is gradually making his way back to the NBA courts after missing out on the entirety of this season due to an injury he suffered in the past campaign’s playoffs, and he struggled to recover all-summer long.
According to the team’s sources, the veteran forward returned to practice this Tuesday but the club doesn’t want to rush things. His coach Tyronn Lue assures that, barring any setbacks, the player should be ready to play within the next two weeks.
The 33-year-old hasn’t trained with his teammates since last season, as he’s knee injury has even kept him out of representing his county in the 2024 Paris Olympics. “He did offensive script, defensive work, and just no contact,” his tactician said. “But he did it pretty much everything else.”
Kawhi Leonard on the court again after practice pic.twitter.com/uW5AxzJG3P
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“Really good sign, just seeing him out there moving, moving well,” Lue admitted. “I think the biggest thing for him is just the confidence in it. Just having the confidence to keep doing it, not to feel the pain, and just continue to keep getting through it. So, it was good to see him on the floor and it gave us a little juice today just for our guys seeing him on the floor, it really picked up our energy.”
Despite not having their All-Star with them this campaign, the Clippers have thrived without them, starting the competition with a 14-11 record, sitting sixth in the Western Conference. They also possess the No. 6 defensive rating in the league, only allowing 108.5 points per 100 possessions.
Another who has thrived in his absence is Norman Powell, who increased his scoring average from 13.9 to 23.6 this season. “I give our guys credit, our players, no matter who’s been here, when guys have been out, we always feel like we have a chance to win and so just go on the floor every single night.
“Just finding ways to win,” Lue shared. “It’s not going to be the same every night. It could be different every single night, but just trying to find ways to win, trying to find combinations to win. I give our guys credit, they’ve done that.”
Despite the good news, his head coach insisted that they must be patient with his return so he doesn’t fall back to injury
After the squad’s practice on Tuesday, Tyronn Lue said that the team still needs to be patient and monitor Leonard’s process as his return grows closer. The medical staff insists that they wish to avoid any setbacks that might inflame his knee once again.
“He’s got to do a lot more things to really get back on the floor,” the coach said. “We just want to make sure he’s 100%. We don’t want to get him out there, 70%, 75%. Like, let’s just take our time, make sure we get it right. … We’re not going to let him skip steps, and so we want to do right by Kawhi.”
Despite missing so many months of basketball action, Lue praised his player for his mentality during the recovery process. This is not Kawhi’s first rodeo, as three years ago he missed the entire 2021-22 season due to a torn ACL in his right knee.
Out of a possible 460 games since joining the L.A. team in 2019, Leonard’s missed 204. “I’m just happy he’s doing it again, he’s getting close and he’s really in a good space mentally,” Lue said. “So he’s just got to stay with it, stay with the program. Can’t get frustrated trying to rush back.”
