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Clippers’ Kawhi Leonard plans to play back-to-backs, but it may not be up to him
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- Clippers’ Kawhi Leonard plans to play back-to-backs, but it may not be up to him
The post Clippers' Kawhi Leonard plans to play back-to-backs, but it may not be up to him appeared first on ClutchPoints .
INGLEWOOD, CA — With their first back-to-back set of the season in front of them, the LA Clippers have some tough decisions with players who are limited. One guy who isn't limited to start this season, however, is Kawhi Leonard .
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The Miami Heat will visit Intuit Dome on Monday night, and the Oklahoma City Thunder will follow on Tuesday night.
Leonard has played in all five of the Clippers' games to start this season, averaging 32.8 minutes per game. He's coming off his best performance so far on the young season, dropping 34 points, five rebounds, five assists, six steals, and a buzzer-beating game-winner in 36 minutes of play against the New Orleans Pelicans .
Following the contest, Leonard confirmed his plans for the upcoming back-to-back set.
"I do plan to play in both games," Leonard said.
When asked if this is a discussion he's already had with the medical staff, Leonard said he's not facing any kind of restrictions to start the season after getting
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"There's no restrictions on me. I feel good. We've been playing hard training camp days, two to three hour [sessions], so I think everybody is comfortable with where I'm at today."
What that is great news, Leonard also told ClutchPoints after the game that while his plan is to play, the decisions will ultimately be made following games.
"I don't have any restrictions, but like, we want to be smart about it and see how many minutes I play the first game."
Following the team's practice on Monday, head coach Tyronn Lue confirmed that Leonard is healthy, but wants to leave the decision of his playing status up to the team's performance and medical staff, depending on what Leonard's workload looks like Monday night.
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"Well we'll see," Lue said. "We'll see what happens after this game. But it's good to see Kawhi saying that he's healthy, he feels good, and that he wants to try to do that, but we can't make a decision until after tomorrow's game.
"It's very positive. It just shows that he feels good, he wants to take that next step, but like I said, we've got to be smart about it. Get through the game and just kind of go from there."
Through five games, the Clippers have a 3-2 record with a couple of solid wins mixed in with some ugly losses. The losses — on the road against the Utah Jazz and Golden State Warriors — have seen players like Bradley Beal and Bogdan Bogdanovic struggle as they work their way back from injuries.
Beal had a nice spurt in the third quarter against the Pelicans, scoring seven points on 3-of-5 shooting in eight minutes. Bogdanovic, meanwhile, has been out of the rotation, but has had positive conversations with head coach Tyronn Lue about his role following back-to-back injuries in the offseason and camp.
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"It's always difficult when you're in those situations, especially coming back from injury or dealing with the very end of it, that last little 10-20 percent," Kawhi Leonard said. "But you've just got to the stay locked in. Like I told them today, keep shooting the ball. It's only game 5, we'll see how it looks in January. It's a marathon, it's not about today. Let's see how he's going to be looking in two months or so."
The Clippers are entering a stretch where they play five of the next six games at home, with the lone road game being a quick trip to Phoenix to face the Suns.
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