The Los Angeles Clippers appear to be preparing for Kawhi Leonard to return to game action after missing the first few months of the NBA season. While Leonard still has no timetable to return, the signs are pointing towards a ramp up period for the LA Clippers star.
Leonard, who has missed every game so far this season, participated in practice for the first time this season as he continues to work his way towards a return.
Clippers' Kawhi Leonard injury update as he ramps up towards return
Kawhi Leonard's practice participation on Tuesday morning was a limited one, as the Clippers star is still not taking contact.
“He did offensive script, defensive work, just no contact, but he did pretty much everything else,” head coach Tyronn Lue said after Tuesday's practice. “He looked good. He's not playing this week but he's getting better.”
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While the Clippers' star will not play in either of the two games the Clippers have this week against the Denver Nuggets or Utah Jazz,
“He's not playing this week, but he's getting better,” Lue added of Kawhi Leonard. “[The next step is] just continue to keep doing what we're doing. Just make sure he is learning so when he gets back he won't be behind. So just going through the plays, going through our defensive coverages, our foundation, and just keep building up to his able do contact, so I'm not sure when that's going to come.”
Clippers guard Jordan Miller, who has taken on a bigger role in the last few weeks as the team has dealt with increased injuries, says he was surprised to see Leonard out on the court today.
“I think it’s the energy he brings just being on the court. He kind of snuck in too, very Kawhi-like. It's great to have another leader on the court. He's been leading off the court obviously, but for him to be in the drills and participate with us, it's just a different feeling. We were doing a shooting drill at the beginning of practice and next thing you know I'm passing it to Kawhi, I'm like, ‘oh snap, it's Kawhi!'”
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Oct 8, 2024; Oceanside, California, USA; Los Angeles Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard (2) looks on from the bench during a preseason game against the Brooklyn Nets at Frontwave Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
Leonard had not participated in any official team drills to date. He was seen partaking in individual shooting drills with coaches last week on the Clippers' Intuit Dome court and did so again following practice on Saturday afternoon.
“It's a really good sign,” Lue added. “Just seeing him out there moving, moving well. So 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 the positives signs of progress and ramping up, Lue says the Clippers are not yet comfortable putting a timeline on when he could return.
“He has to do a lot more things to really get back on the floor. We just want to make sure he's a hundred percent. We don't want to get him out there. 70%, 75%. Like, let's just take our time, make sure we get it right. Like I said, our medical staff with Maggie Bryant, Todd Wright, Jasen Powell, those guys have done a great job just making sure that he's checking every box, not speeding through it, not skipping steps. We're not going to let him skip steps and so we want to do right by Kawhi. They've done a good job.”
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The Clippers are in the midst of a stretch where they play just three games in 14 days. They had a two-day break before taking on the Houston Rockets last week, have four days off before they take on the Denver Nuggets this Friday, will have two days off before taking on the Dallas Mavericks on December 19th, and have three more days off for Christmas before taking on the Warriors on December 27th.
“I think we've had a tough schedule overall, so haven't been able to practice a lot, but we use our shoot arounds to get better and I think just having more walkthroughs than really practices just so we can just continue to clean up things we need to get better at. And our guys have been really good.”
When Leonard is able to return, whenever that may be, the Clippers will welcome him back with open arms. There won't be a lot of pressure on him to perform right away, especially given the play of Kris Dunn and Derrick Jones Jr. on the defensive end.
But the Clippers will need Kawhi Leonard to be the two-time Finals MVP that he has shown he can be.
“Not right away, but at some point, we need him to be Kawhi Leonard,” said Lue. “And I think he can do that. And just seeing the year he had last year – 68 games and how he played at a high level. He was really, really playing at a high level. So we just got to get him back to that. It’s going to take some time and he can’t get frustrated with the process”
In addition to Leonard, James Harden, Amir Coffey, Mo Bamba, and Kris Dunn all returned to Clippers practice after dealing with injuries in the team's last contest against the Rockets. Derrick Jones Jr., who left Sunday's game in the first quarter with a hamstring injury, will be re-evaluated in two weeks after he suffered a right hamstring strain.