LOS ANGELES — Word began to filter through the hallways of Crypto.com Arena late Tuesday afternoon. Kawhi Leonard would be warming up in advance of Game 2 of the Clippers’ first-round playoff series against the Dallas Mavericks.
Within minutes, cell phones clicked and cameras rolled, all capturing footage of the six-time All-Star forward as he prepared for his first postseason game.
Leonard returned to the Clippers’ lineup on Tuesday night after missing the past nine games, including Sunday’s Game 1 victory, because of lingering inflammation in his surgically repaired right knee. The two-time NBA Finals MVP only recently began practicing after experiencing discomfort in the knee after the Clippers’ game against the Charlotte Hornets on March 31.
“He’s done all the necessary things he has to do to get on the floor,” Coach Tyronn Lue said before tipoff. “He’s checked every box and the medical (staff has) done a great job just making sure he checks those boxes. We could never put a guy on the floor who is not ready to go, so he’s ready to go.
Lue said Leonard would not be on any kind of minutes restriction but would “just gauge it to see how he feels. Just kind of go off feel, see how he’s feeling.”
Dallas coach Jason Kidd said Leonard obviously presents additional challenges than those the Mavericks faced in the series opener.
“(You’re talking) about a future Hall of Famer,” Kidd said. “He’s one (player who’s) basketball IQ is high, so he’s gotta be accounted for on both ends, defensively and offensively, no matter how long he’s been out.
“If he’s playing, he’s ready to go. You gotta account for him on both sides of the ball.”
Lue said he expects that Leonard will not be as sharp as he was throughout the regular season, when he was averaging a team-high 23.7 points, 6.1 rebounds and 3.6 assists.
“He can be a little rusty offensively, but he’s still going to make shots and be who he is and so we’ll see when the game starts,” Lue said.
Clippers president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank had described Leonard’s inflammation as “unpredictable” and “stubborn” last week.
Before the injury, Leonard was enjoying his healthiest season since arriving in Los Angeles, playing 68 games, the most since he was a member of the San Antonio Spurs in 2016-17. He was averaging a career-high 34.3 minutes this season.