Is Kawhi Leonard playing tonight against the Golden State Warriors? | February 14, 2023 | 2022-23 NBA Season
Kawhi Leonard has played one of the most inconsistent seasons this year. The LA Clippers have 23 games remaining in the season and Leonard has only played in 32 out of 59 games so far.
This is solely due to his knee injury management issues. The approach Kawhi is taking to efficiently rest his knee between games has made the superstar miss a hefty amount of games.
Kawhi Leonard was sidelined last Friday against the Milwaukee Bucks due to injury management. At this point, nobody is surprised by his absence. However, it looks like Leonard will be returning tonight against the Golden State Warriors.
CBS Sports reported that the Clippers star isn't listed on the injury report and should be good to go against the defending champions.
Will we see the old Kawhi Leonard ever again?
While it's great to see Kawhi Leonard back on the court again, especially after missing the 2021-22 season, it doesn't exactly feel the same as before. Back when "The Klaw" was still playing for the San Antonio Spurs, he was still able to consistently play games. However, it's understandable that his current team is just being cautious with his situation to avoid another disastrous injury.
But the more Kawhi Leonard continues to miss games, the more court rust he continues to compile. Leonard can without a doubt still play at an elite level, yet he struggles to consistently put up the same figures on a nightly basis.
There are days when Kawhi scores over 30 points, then there are others when he puts up less than 20 points.
No one is doubting Leonard's capabilities of being the superstar that he is. The only thing fans are concerned about right now is the fact that he's not able to do it as often as before.
The LA Clippers are currently sitting on the sixth seed with a 31-28 record. LA might be safe from being eliminated entirely from the playoff picture, but having the old Kawhi could've put them in a better spot this season.
Obviously, the Clippers aren't aiming to win it all this season given how cautious they've been with Leonard's injury. If "The Klaw" is still put under injury management in the postseason, it'll be clear by then that LA will try their luck next season.