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Los Angeles Clippers star forward Kawhi Leonard is inching towards his return to the hardwood after missing several games this season due to the “injury management” of his surgically repaired knee.
But Leonard’s head coach Tyronn Lue cautioned that the five-time NBA All-Star still has a “ways to go.”
“Not tomorrow,” Lue told reporters Friday when asked if Leonard was close to his return. “It’s gonna take a few more opportunities to get that in and then kinda reassess and see how he’s feeling after we go to medical, and just kinda see if we check all the boxes.”
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Anfernee Simons #1 of the Portland Trail Blazers plays defense on Kawhi Leonard #2 of the LA Clippers during a preseason game on October 3, 2022 at the Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, Washington.
( Michael Gonzales/NBAE via Getty Images)
Leonard suffered a partially torn ACL in his right knee in the last year’s postseason and missed the entire 2021-22 regular season rehabbing.
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The 31-year-old has only appeared in two regular-season NBA games this year. He came off the bench in both of those games and played for a limited amount of minutes.
Kawhi Leonard #2 of the Los Angeles Clippers looks on during the first half of the preseason game against the Portland Trail Blazers at Climate Pledge Arena on October 03, 2022 in Seattle, Washington. The Los Angeles Clippers won 102-97.
(Alika Jenner/Getty Images)
Lue mentioned that he was encouraged by how Leonard was recently able to perform as he worked towards getting back on the court.
“He played five-on-five this morning,” Lue noted. “With some of our guys, some of the players and some of the coaches. (It was) the first time he was able to get on the court and play five-on-five, and he looked pretty good. He still has a ways to go, but that was the first sign of positivity of him getting on the…
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