Los Angeles Clippers return must brace themselves for a more stressful season as a Kawhi Leonard return remains bleak.
NBA insider Shams Charania suggested in his show that the situation of the Clippers star is more dire than what is being shared on social media. He shared that the two-time Finals MVP will be out for an extended period of time.
“I’m told Kawhi Leonard will be missing weeks,” Charania during an appearance at the NBA on ESPN.
“This is not an injury that’s going to be measured by a week, two weeks, potentially. Not days, obviously. This will be an extended period of time that the Clippers are starting this season without him.”
The Clippers in its latest injury updated listed Leonard as out for rehab of his knee injury. The team will also not have rotation players like Josh Okogie, PJ Tucker, and Mo Bamba.
The team will face the Phoenix Suns led by the big three of Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, and Bradley Beal.
No Kawhi Leonard return, Harden will step up for Los Angeles Clippers
Charania also cleared up that the Clips are looking at the future when it comes to the situation of Kawhi and they want him to be there come playoff time.
“They feel they have a plan, a protocol in place, that will allow him when he is ready to return to actually sustain his play on the court,” he said.
Meanwhile, the team’s other star James Harden is ready to takeover. He said it is now his responsibility to play harder as a leader, something he experienced before.
“I’ve been in situations like this where we have not as much as other teams, but then that’s when my leadership role has to really, really kick in. We don’t have room for error like a lot of other teams. We have to be detailed and precise on everything we do, and that starts with me. We started off in the summer, and we’ve had a really good preseason. So I think for us it’s just getting off to a really good start.”
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