The Los Angeles Clippers will come into the brand new season as one of many largest query marks within the league. Not solely did they lose Paul George this offseason, however the well being of Kawhi Leonard is as soon as once more in query. Nonetheless, Leonard has been working vigorously to rehab his knee and nonetheless plans to be within the lineup for the season opener. Leonard performed in 68 video games final 12 months, probably the most the six-time All-Star has performed since his second to final 12 months in San Antonio. He’s motivated to shoulder a heavy load for Los Angeles this season and his restoration course of will play an enormous function on this aim.
Kawhi Leonard Intends to Play in Season Opener for Los Angeles Clippers
Kawhi Leonard’s Feedback on His Restoration Course of
Leonard himself had some attention-grabbing feedback when requested about his surgically repaired proper knee.
“We’ll determine it out. I’m joyful that I’m feeling good and it’s feeling loads higher than it was.”
“We’re taking it daily,” Leonard mentioned. “The whole lot has been going nice for the previous month however being very cautious for causes previously we haven’t been in a position to end some playoff runs, so ensuring we’re staying wholesome for these vital moments.
“Making an attempt to take care of it and determine it out. We’ll be in right here for a very long time if I began describing stuff [about the injury and treatment] however simply studying on the way it got here and tips on how to hold it down and make it possible for we don’t fall in that timeframe of [missing time in] these vital [late-season] moments and simply ensuring I’m wholesome.
“There’s sure stuff that we might do or attempt to do to make me final,” he mentioned. “So, we’ll see what occurs.”
Leonard is coming off a 12 months the place he averaged a career-best three-point taking pictures proportion of 41.7 p.c together with 23.7 factors per sport. On prime of that, he additionally tallied 6.1 complete rebounds and 1.6 steals per sport. All in all, his influence might be important for the brand new season.
The Clippers’ Title Odds Coming Into This 12 months
Per FanDuel, the Los Angeles Clippers have odds of +10,000 to win the NBA Finals. For the division, they at the moment have odds of +1,000. They will be underdogs for the primary time ever since Kawhi Leonard and Paul George joined forces just a few years in the past. We have now already seen what Kawhi Leonard do when he’s the lone alpha on a squad. The query is, can he replicate this feat as soon as once more?