NBA analyst Chris Broussard has revealed that his sources have said that the Los Angeles Clippers are concerned about Kawhi Leonard, who is suffering from knee swelling and hasn't played since March 31.
"I was just in contact with somebody in the know, and they said the Clippers are concerned. They said there's a lot of swelling in his knee."
The Clippers gave Kawhi the last two weeks of the season off to rest his knee in time for the playoffs. Since then, there has been no public update on Leonard's status. Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue was asked about Kawhi on the final of the regular season and gave an ambiguous answer about his star's status.
"He's been doing a little something... I ain't telling you nothing. He's feeling fine, he's feeling okay."
Leonard is notoriously private about his health status when he suffers an injury, so it's unlikely that many people in the organization even know where Kawhi is at before the start of their first-round series against the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday.
Kawhi has been the only Clippers to have matched Luka Doncic's production in their previous hard-fought series, with Leonard averaging 32.5 points, 8.9 rebounds, and 4.8 assists over 13 games. He's still the best player on the Clippers and hopes of postseason success live and die with what he can do.
Clippers Already Being Doubted
Despite being the higher seed, the recent months of the NBA season are prompting many to pick the Dallas Mavericks to win this series, regardless of Kawhi's health. Doncic has made contending versions of these Clippers struggle before despite having a worse roster around him before. This year, the Mavs have a formidable roster with Kyrie Irving being the most notable addition.
As far as Doncic goes, he averages 33.5 points, 8.8 rebounds, and 9.5 assists in the playoff against the Clippers. Even though he lost in 2020 and 2021, his individual performances have started a narrative of him 'owning' the Clippers, something recently cited by Gilbert Arenas.
“Luka [Doncic] owns them… I mean, [in the] last ten games alone, he’s averaged 37 against them. If the Clippers wanna get out of this series… I’m gonna throw a double at him. They can win four games, and if they get to the second round, they can win one.”
Doubling Luka is a sure-fire way to get your defense sliced apart, so the Clippers need Kawhi to be available as he's been a solid POA option on Doncic before. Paul George will likely have his hands full with Kyrie Irving and the Mavs' wings, while the team lacks players like Robert Covington, Marcus Morris Sr, and Robert Covington to play strong defense on Doncic.
This is a modern playoff rivalry and Dallas will be hoping for their first win. They'd also want to finally win this series with a healthy Leonard, so here's hoping Kawhi has a speedy recovery and competes in the postseason without a hitch.
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