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Kawhi Leonard’s injury has been the turning point in the Western Conference first-round Playoff series between the Los Angeles Clippers and the Phoenix Suns. Leonard has been the best player on the Clippers and he led the team to a 115-110 road win in the series opener scoring 38 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists.
It seemed like the Clippers are capable of making a major upset against the Suns, who given the odds, were the favorites to win the West going into the Playoffs. The Clippers failed in Game 2 despite Leonard dropping 31 on the Suns. However, it seemed like the Clippers were in a good situation as the series was about to move to LA and they have won a game on the road.
Unfortunately for Steve Ballmer’s team, Kawhi Leonard got injured and missed the following two games which the Clippers lost at the Crypto.com Arena. Paul George was also sidelined with injury, so the rest of the Clippers could not outplay the Suns even though, they deserve all the respect for the performance. The Clippers will try to move the series back to LA and their chances will depend on the answer is Leonard playing tonight.
Photo by Icon Sport
What’s Leonard’s Injury Status Ahead of Game 5 of the Series?
When the news came out about Leonard missing Game 3 with a knee injury, it seemed like he just needs a break and will be back in the series. However, it came up that the knee injury is much more serious that it looked at first sight, and Leonard will also be out for Game 5 which will be played tonight in Phoenix.
Leonard missed the entire 2021-22 season with torn ACL in his knee. He was all set to return at the beginning of this season which he eventually did but it came up that the healing was not as good as it should have been. After only 22 games played in the season, Leonard was sidelined for the next couple of weeks. When he returned, Clippers head coach Tyrone Lue, played him on limited minutes and Leonard was under time management by the end of the regular season.
Do the Clippers stand any chance against the Suns without Leonard?
In the previous two games, we witnessed that the Clippers are simply not the same team without Kawhi Leonard. Russell Westbrook and Norman Powell did a great job on the offensive end, but when it comes to defense, Leonard cannot be replaced. Given the fact that the Suns have offensive weapons such as Kevin Durant and Devin Booker, we will probably see the last chapter of this series tonight.
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