Kawhi Leonard Giving Clippers Encouraging Signs He Can Stay Healthy

Aaron Gordon #32 of the Denver Nuggets defends a shot against Kawhi Leonard #2 of the Los Angeles Clippers (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

Every week, Mark Medina shares his thoughts and insights on the latest NBA topics for RG. In this installment, he gives his take on Kawhi Leonard’s playoff resurgence with the LA Clippers.

With two NBA titles, two Finals MVPs, and too many injuries to count, LA Clippers star Kawhi Leonard understandably won’t make much of a few encouraging developments.

Although the Clippers looked dominant in their 117-83 Game 2 win over the Denver Nuggets on Thursday at Intuit Dome, Leonard cautioned that the Nuggets have both the talent and experience to overcome a 2-1 series deficit.

Although he has played without a major injury for over a month, Leonard has enough perspective on how one slight twist or bump can derail his postseason aspirations.

But after missing the first 34 games to heal an inflamed right knee that limited him in last year’s playoffs and sidelined him for the Paris Olympics, Leonard has shown he can stay healthy and play at a dominant level.

Kawhi Dominant Again

So far, so good. Leonard finished with 21 points while shooting 7-for-17 from the field and 3-for-6 from 3-point range along with 11 rebounds and six assists. That performance happened three days after Leonard led the Clippers to a Game 2 win in Denver with 39 points and five assists.

Though both performances highlight the contrasting approaches Leonard takes game-to-game as both an effective scorer and playmaker, it reveals a more consistent trend with other developments. Leonard hasn’t missed a game to treat his right knee for almost seven weeks. During that same time period, he hasn’t played in limited minutes. And he’s playing with as much aggressiveness as when he led the San Antonio Spurs (2014) and Toronto Raptors (2019) to NBA championships.

“That right there tells you everything about Kawhi,” Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said. “He could’ve easily packed it in this year. But he wanted to play. He wanted to be out there and help.”

The Clippers understandably aren’t going to run a victory lap both with their early postseason success and with Leonard’s durability.

The Nuggets have endured a taxing season with Nikola Jokić’s taxing workload, his teammates’ inconsistency, and the organization’s infighting that led to firing its head coach (Michael Malone) and general manager (Calvin Booth). But the Clippers have too much respect for the Nuggets, which won the NBA title two years ago and even overcame a 3-1 series deficit against the Clippers five years ago.

Clippers Optimistic About Leonard’s Future

As for Leonard? He thrived in the 2021 NBA playoffs only to tear the ACL in his right knee during Game 4 of their second-round series against the Utah Jazz and then miss the entire 2021-22 campaign. Leonard looked just as dominant in the Clippers’ first two playoff games against the Phoenix Suns, only to miss the remainder of the five-game series loss with a torn meniscus in his right knee. Leonard looked limited during last season’s first-round exit to Dallas while dealing with right knee inflammation.

Still, Leonard and the Clippers should celebrate this moment. After staying sidelined for seven months with his right knee inflammation, Leonard hasn’t looked limited at all for over 1 ½ months.

“Everybody just talks about his injuries and the amount of games he’s missed. But for him to come back and play every single time he has one of those injuries and playing at the level that he’s playing at, there’s commitment there,” Clippers guard Norman Powell said. “It’s not just he’s a great player and great talent. He puts the time and the work in. People need to start appreciating who he is as a player and who he is as a person and what he brings to the game. It’s unfortunate the injuries happen. But he’s not trying to go out there and get hurt and miss games. It happens, and he has to bounce back and recover. But I admire his mental fortitude and toughness through it all.”

Leonard pledged to stay disciplined with his treatment, dieting, and rest to ensure he can maintain his durability throughout the playoffs. Though the Clippers’ playoff ceiling seems uncertain, Leonard’s trajectory actually seems encouraging.

Unlike the past two seasons, Leonard has entered the playoffs feeling fully healthy. Unlike his first two years with the Clippers (2019-21), Leonard didn’t experience overlapping injuries and limited workloads throughout the season. Instead, Leonard has played at an elite level without limitations.

“He’s one of the best. He’s top 75 for a reason,” Clippers forward Nicolas Batum said. “I’m not really surprised he’s playing really good basketball right now. Let’s hope that he can be that way as much as he can.”