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The Los Angeles Clippers are holding their breath against Kawhi Leonard.
The six-time All-Star left Tuesday’s game with what the team called chest spasms, according to Ohm Youngmisuk from ESPN. Leonard did not play at all in the second quarter against the Minnesota Timberwolves and was seen leaving the Clippers locker room in street clothes.
It was later reported that he had left Crypto.com Arena entirely because he felt uncomfortable sitting.
Leonard finished the game with six points, 2-of-4 shooting, two rebounds and two assists in 12 minutes. His absence opened the door to one of the Clippers’ worst losses of the season, in which the team blew a 22-point lead en route to a 118-100 loss.
Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue he said after the game Leonard had been dealing with back problems the last few days and tried to play, but realized he couldn’t after the first quarter. Leonard’s status is unclear for Los Angeles’ back-to-back road games on Thursday and Friday.
While chest spasms aren’t a huge concern compared to some of the reasons Leonard might have left the arena, any injury concerns are greater with Leonard. The two-time Finals MVP has dealt with injuries throughout his Clippers career and has yet to play more than 60 games in a season for the team.
This was supposed to be the season where the Clippers got to see what they are with Leonard and Paul George healthy. Leonard had finally recovered from his ACL surgery rehab and was on pace to play his most games since the 2016-17 season, helping lead Los Angeles to a 41-22 record entering Tuesday. good for fourth place in the West.
The Clippers were already without Russell Westbrook due to a broken hand and now they can only hope that Leonard’s problems are minor this time.