The Los Angeles Clippers are in the most competitive first-round series of the 2024 NBA Playoffs with the Dallas Mavericks. Each team has won a game on the road and at home as the series shifts back to Los Angeles for Game 5.
One of the major storylines to this point has been the health of Clippers star Kawhi Leonard. Leonard was sidelined for about three weeks with a knee issue that was shrouded in some mystery, as no one knew just how severe it was.
The last regular season game he played in was March 31st before he returned for Game 2 on April 23rd. He didn’t look quite right in that game and the Clippers kept a close eye on him in Game 3, both of which they lost.
Instead of forcing it, as Leonard hadn’t practiced much, they held him out of the lineup in Game 4 and the team was victorious. That makes Los Angeles 2-0 without Leonard in the lineup this series and they will be looking to make it 3-0 in Game 5.
According to head coach Tyronn Lue, via Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN, Leonard will not be playing on Wednesday night. He did not practice on Tuesday as inflammation remains an issue in his right knee which he had surgery on.
Despite not being in the lineup, Lue believes that Leonard’s presence around the team is an important one to have. “I mean he keeps himself involved,” Lue said. “Just being in the shootarounds, being in the practices, understanding what we’re trying to do.
“So when guys make mistakes, when they come out of the game, he can talk to those guys and let them know. And then also let them know what he sees as well with PG and with James. And he’s been really vocal. He’s helped us out a lot even though he’s not playing.”
Without Leonard in the lineup, the heavy lifting has been done by Paul George and James Harden. In Game 4, they combined for 66 points, 15 assists and 12 rebounds in a 116-111 victory. The Clippers will need another performance like that to seize control of the series and take a 3-2 lead into Dallas for Game 6.
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