Leonard still intends to return
LOS ANGELES — Kawhi Leonard made his intentions clearly known from September’s very first day of Clippers training camp: His decision to re-sign in August on a longer-term contract was rooted in two interconnected reasons.
“I wanted to secure some money,” Leonard said then, “and I wanted to be able to come back if I was able to this year.”
Three months deeper into his recovery from a July surgery to repair the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee, nothing about the All-star forward’s intent has changed, and that’s only underscored by a report Thursday that Leonard is optimistic about a return at some point this season because of a recovery termed ahead of schedule, according to Yahoo’s Chris Haynes.
As he has throughout this season when asked about Leonard’s recovery, Clippers coach Tyronn Lue didn’t provide an update on Leonard’s progress following a 106-89 loss on Thursday in Phoenix, which dropped his team to 19-20 and below .500 for the first time since Nov. 3. Asked whether he sensed optimism from Leonard about a return, Lue said, “yes, optimism, but I mean, I still don’t really know. Like to have a lot of guys back right now.”
ACL experts said in July that most recoveries fall in a range with nine months a typical return date for many athletes, though returns earlier than that are not uncommon. The nine-month mark would fall in mid-april, as the postseason is scheduled to begin.
“I would tell him to take his time, that’s a major injury. And we all know Kawhi is gonna take his time, so when he’s ready, he’ll play,” forward Marcus Morris Sr. said after scoring a season-high 26 points against the Suns.
The Clippers have remained adamant amid their short-handed season that they still have enough to win and keep pace in the playoff race. Doing that will require overcoming what Morris called their “Achilles’ heel” — their inability to consistently rebound and limit opponents’ second-chance points.
Although a source of trouble all season — Leonard is an excellent rebounder for his position — it has been exacerbated by the losses of their top two centers, Ivica Zubac (health and safety protocols) and Isaiah Hartenstein (ankle), and wing Paul George (elbow). No matter when they return, however, any turnaround on the glass will start with the Clippers’ shortest players, Lue said.
“I know teams are a little bigger but we still can do a better job of hitting first and bringing that physicality, and we just don’t do it every single night with our guards,” he said.
Kidd latest to enter protocols
The Dallas Mavericks were without coach Jason Kidd on Friday night against the Rockets.
The Mavericks announced Kidd has entered the health and safety protocols as the NBA’S 13th head coach sidelined this season. Assistant coach Sean Sweeney will be Dallas’ acting head coach.
Dallas currently is fifth in the Western Conference and has won four straight. The Mavericks are scheduled to host Chicago on Sunday night before hitting the road for a twogame swing.
The last few weeks in the NBA have seen most teams dealing with outbreaks; 11 games have been postponed, while now 13 head coaches, countless other staffers and about one-third of the league’s referees have been sidelined by virus issues.
Recent days have lessened the strain that teams are under. There were about 125 players in the protocols midway through last week, and that number was down to 56 by Thursday evening.
About 300 players have been in the protocols already this season in the NBA, and because so many hardship signings were needed by teams to fill depleted rosters there were more players who saw game time in December alone — 544 — than in any other previous full season in league history. The previous single-season record was 540, set last season.