The Los Angeles Clippers will come into the new season as one of the biggest question marks in the league. Not only did they lose Paul George this offseason, but the health of Kawhi Leonard is once again in question. However, Leonard has been working vigorously to rehab his knee and still plans to be in the lineup for the season opener. Leonard played in 68 games last year, the most the six-time All-Star has played since his second to last year in San Antonio. He is motivated to shoulder a heavy load for Los Angeles this season and his recovery process will play a huge role in this goal.
Kawhi Leonard Intends to Play in Season Opener for Los Angeles Clippers
Kawhi Leonard’s Comments on His Recovery Process
Leonard himself had some interesting comments when asked about his surgically repaired right knee.
“We’ll figure it out. I’m happy that I’m feeling good and it’s feeling a lot better than it was.”
“We’re taking it day by day,” Leonard said. “Everything has been going great for the past month but being very cautious for reasons in the past we haven’t been able to finish some playoff runs, so making sure we’re staying healthy for those important moments.
“Trying to maintain it and figure it out. We’ll be in here for a long time if I started describing stuff [about the injury and treatment] but just learning on how it came and how to keep it down and make sure that we don’t fall in that timeframe of [missing time in] those important [late-season] moments and just making sure I’m healthy.
“There’s certain stuff that we could do or try to do to make me last,” he said. “So, we’ll see what happens.”
Leonard is coming off a year where he averaged a career-best three-point shooting percentage of 41.7 percent along with 23.7 points per game. On top of that, he also tallied 6.1 total rebounds and 1.6 steals per game. All in all, his impact will be vital for the new season.
The Clippers’ Title Odds Coming Into This Year
Per FanDuel, the Los Angeles Clippers have odds of +10,000 to win the NBA Finals. For the division, they currently have odds of +1,000. They are going to be underdogs for the first time ever since Kawhi Leonard and Paul George joined forces a few years ago. We have already seen what Kawhi Leonard do when he is the lone alpha on a squad. The question is, can he replicate this feat once again?
