INGLEWOOD — The question hasn’t changed and neither has the answer. At least not yet.
When Clippers star Kawhi Leonard suits up for a game is anyone’s guess. The All-Star forward has not taken part in any team drills or played in any of the Clippers’ four preseason games or any games since Game 3 of last spring’s six-game first-round playoff series against the Dallas Mavericks. He missed the final eight games of the regular season before being limited in the postseason.
“Continue to keep rehabbing, keep getting better, keep checking the boxes,” Coach Tyronn Lue said, when asked about Leonard’s availability.
Leonard, who had an offseason procedure performed on his surgically repaired right knee, was on the bench again Monday night when the Clippers played the Dallas Mavericks in their first game of any kind at their new Intuit Dome. Leonard has been ruled out for Thursday night’s preseason finale against the Sacramento Kings, and his status for the regular-season opener against Phoenix on Oct. 23 remains uncertain.
Leonard said at the start of training camp that he was much more confident that he and the medical staff have a better handle on the condition, but Clippers president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank said the two-time NBA Finals MVP’s return would depend on “how his knee responds to each phase.”
“When it comes to your body and your health, I don’t think you put a time frame on it,” Frank said earlier this month.
The Clippers aren’t waiting around for Leonard. They won for the third game of the preseason, 110-96, looking comfortable in their new surroundings.
They built a 20-point lead in the third quarter against the short-handed Mavericks before settling for a 14-point victory.
Dallas played without defending scoring champion Luka Doncic (calf contusion), All-Star guard Kyrie Irving (rest), Dante Exum (right wrist), Maxi Kleber (ankle) and Kessler Edwards (ankle).
With Leonard ruled out, much of the workload again fell to James Harden, who got off to a slow start but finished with 10 points, 12 eye-catching assists and three steals in 23 minutes, earning a chance to sit out the exhibition finale on Thursday.
“He’s been great. All camp we did a lot of running, and he told me in Seattle (where the Clippers played last Friday), when we left the football game, you got 12 more days of this (training camp) and I’m never going to run like this anymore,” Lue said.
“But he’s done all the right things. He’s been a great leader, on and off the floor. He was in the same situation a lot of times in Houston, so he’s up for a challenge.”
Tuesday’s game was another chance to test lineup combinations, although Lue stuck with the same lineup that started the previous two games. Norman Powell continued to show he’s a contender for a starting spot with 13 points on 4-of-8 shooting, three rebounds and one steal in 22 minutes.
Ivica Zubac posted a double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds and had four steals in 24 minutes, while Derrick Jones Jr. scored 12 points on 6-of-11 shooting in 23 minutes.
“I thought last game, we got better. Took a step and right direction as far as transition defense, offensive rebounds, and taking care of the basketball,” Lue said. “So, we will continue to keep building off that. But we got to continue building the right habits, make sure we’re executing the right way on both sides of basketball.”
