LOS ANGELES — The LA Clippers will continue to be without Kawhi Leonard and Paul George through at least Sunday.
Clippers head coach Ty Lue said Leonard, George and Luke Kennard remain out for Sunday’s game against Indiana due to injuries. Lue, though, added that he doesn’t believe the Clippers will be without their two stars for an extended period of time.
“I don’t think it’s gonna be a long term,” Lue said before the Clippers lost 114-104 to the Denver Nuggets on Friday.
Leonard missed his second straight game due to a sprained right ankle against Denver. George sat out his third straight game due to a right hamstring tendon strain suffered in the first half of a win against San Antonio on Nov. 19. And Kennard has missed five straight games due to a right calf strain.
The Clippers want to be as cautious as possible with injuries so that they can have their best players available for the postseason. Leonard missed all of last season after tearing his right ACL in Game 4 of the second round against Utah in 2021.
“We’re not the only team who’s going through it,” Lue said of injuries. “The guys [are] getting better, they’re progressing pretty well and that’s all we can worry about. We got to worry about [Denver]. And the guys we got on the floor and trying to get a win and so our guys are scrapping, they’re playing hard, they’re trying to hold the fort down and it’s tough right now. But it is just part of the league right now.”