LOS ANGELES — Kawhi Leonard has participated in individual workouts, but there’s “really no time frame” for the LA Clippers star’s return at the moment.
Leonard missed his seventh straight game with injury management to his right knee Sunday night when the Clippers played the Utah Jazz. The former two-time NBA Finals MVP is also expected to miss Monday’s game against Cleveland and his return to the court remains uncertain.
“There’s really no time frame for when he’ll be back,” said Clippers manager Ty Lue when asked if Leonard’s status is now being viewed on a week-to-week basis rather than a day-to-day basis. “The biggest thing is just the tests he has to go through with the medicine and the slow progress of getting better every single day. And so right now we’re just taking it day by day, not really a schedule.”
Aside from Leonard likely not being there, the Clippers may have to face the Cavaliers without a true point guard on Monday. Starter Reggie Jackson did not play the final 18+ minutes of the Clippers’ 110-102 loss to Utah after banging his left knee with Nickeil Alexander-Walker. Jackson, who had his left knee wrapped and was limping in the dressing room after the game, hopes he can play and said he didn’t think he would need an MRI on his knee.
John Wall, who had 12 points and six assists in 28 minutes against Utah, will not play as the Clippers continue to keep him out of at least one game in two straight games. Luke Kennard, who also handles the ball off the bench at times, did not play Sunday night due to a chest condition.
Paul George expects to play point guard when Jackson is unavailable.
“It’s still a work in progress,” George said of the Clippers’ inconsistency in starting the season. “Now we’ve got a different lineup tomorrow, different rotation with John out, possibly Reggie, not sure how Luke is… but it’s early in the season. I think that’s the good thing about it. And I’m very optimistic that this team will find our step and start playing our best basketball when the need arises. We’re just going through these growing pains early on.
Leonard played in two of the Clippers’ first three games this season, spending 21 minutes on the bench in each game. But Leonard experienced stiffness in his surgically repaired right knee during a morning shooting before the Clippers game in Oklahoma City on Oct. 25.
Leonard tore his right ACL in Game 4 of Round 2 against Utah on June 14, 2021 and sat out all of last season to rehab the injury.
“He’s making good progress,” said Lue. “We knew when we left an ACL it wasn’t going to be a straight line. We talked about it before the season. The most important thing is that he’s making good progress. We will follow the lead of our medical staff, we have to deal with the situation wisely, but he is making progress.
“…He’s in a good place, he’s progressing and he’s getting better, that’s the most important thing.”