Kawhi Leonard Out for Clippers' NBA Playoff Game 5 vs. Mavericks with Knee Injury
Scott Polacek@@ScottPolacek
Featured Columnist IVApril 30, 2024
Los Angeles Clippers star Kawhi Leonard will miss Game 5 of the team's series against the Dallas Mavericks with a knee injury.
It will be the second-straight missed game for Leonard, who sat in Game 4 as the Clippers won and tied the series at two games apiece.
Health is always a question mark surrounding Leonard, and it was no different heading into the 2024 NBA playoffs. He missed the final eight games of the regular season and multiple games in the Clippers' first-round series against the Dallas Mavericks because of right knee inflammation.
Despite the setback, he appeared in 68 games during the 2023-24 campaign. That was his highest mark since the 2016-17 season when he was on the San Antonio Spurs.
Leonard averaged 23.7 points, 6.1 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.6 steals per game while shooting 52.5 percent from the field and 41.7 percent from deep in those 68 contests.
Los Angeles still has plenty of proven firepower even when Leonard is sidelined with Paul George, James Harden and even Russell Westbrook coming off the bench, so it can tread water in the meantime.
Still, Leonard remains one of the better two-way players in the league when he is healthy and significantly raises the ceiling for the Clippers in the postseason by being on the floor.
