LOS ANGELES — Kawhi Leonard will play in Game 2 of the Clippers’ first-round playoff series against the Dallas Mavericks tonight, his first game in three weeks.
The All-Star forward has missed nine consecutive games, including Sunday’s Game 1 victory, because of inflammation in his surgically repaired right knee. He has engaged in limited practices leading up to the playoffs, and only recently took part in contact drills.
“He’s done all the necessary things he has to do to get on the floor and so he’s checked every box and the medical (staff has) done a great job just making sure he checks those boxes,” Coach Tyronn Lue said before tip-off on Tuesday evening at Crypto.com Arena. “We never put a guy on the floor who is not ready to go, so he’s ready to go.”
Lue said Leonard would not be on a minutes restriction but would “gauge it to see how he feels. Just kind of go off feel, see how he is feeling.”
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Clippers president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank had described Leonard’s inflammation as “unpredictable” and “stubborn” last week.
Before the injury, Leonard was enjoying his healthiest season since arriving in Los Angeles, playing 68 games, the most since he was a member of the San Antonio Spurs in 2016-17. He was averaging a career-high 34.3 minutes this season.
