SALT LAKE CITY – Los Angeles Clippers star Kawhi Leonard will sit out Wednesday’s game against the Utah Jazz and play Thursday against the San Antonio Spurs, coach Doc Rivers said.
It’s the first game that Leonard will miss with the Clippers due to load management. Rivers said the franchise will determine when Leonard will rest on a “case-by-case” basis, adding that there is no set plan to always rest the two-time NBA Finals MVP on one end of a back-to-back.
The Clippers are officially listing Leonard as out due to “load management, knee,” satisfying the NBA’s new requirement to list a specific body part. However, Rivers said Leonard “has never felt better.”
“Our goal is to have him playing and being fresh all year, and we’re doing that so far,” Rivers said. “I keep saying this: He’s not the only guy we’re having those conversations with, and every team is doing it. We’re just trying to do it, I don’t know, I’m trying to say more efficiently than others. But we’re learning as we go.”
Leonard played in only 60 regular-season games last season before leading the Toronto Raptors to an NBA title. The Raptors were rewarded for their conservative approach with Leonard by his dominant performance in the playoffs, when he averaged 30.5 points, 9.1 rebounds and 3.9 assists while playing every game.
The spotlight on Leonard’s maintenance plan is especially bright in part because disagreements about his health, specifically regarding a quadriceps injury, led to his departure from the Spurs. After Leonard sat out all but nine games in 2017-18, San Antonio traded Leonard along with Danny Green to the Raptors for DeMar DeRozan, Jakob Poltl and a 2019 first-round pick.
Rivers said Leonard, who has averaged 27.0 points, 6.5 rebounds and 7.5 assists through four games with the Clippers after signing with them in free agency, would have heavy input on which games he rested. The Clippers will take a similar approach with other veterans, including Leonard’s co-star Paul George, who has yet to play for LA due to his recovery from offseason shoulder surgeries.
“You’ve just got to go case by case, more by information,” Rivers said. “We’re trying to do it smarter. The whole key, I guess, is the input the guys give you, the honest input. Paul George, you can trust. Lou [Williams], you can trust. Kawhi, you can trust. Pat [Beverley], I don’t know. I would say not on him.”