The Los Angeles Clippers are taking on the Oklahoma City Thunder but they will do so without three of their key players.
The team is sitting out Paul George (non-COVID illness) , Kawhi Leonard ( right knee injury management) and Marcus Morris ( personal reasons).
The Clippers have handled Kawhi , as he is retuning from an ACL injury, with the care of a Faberge egg though the first three games of the season. He came off the bench in the season opener against the Los Angeles Lakers, playing 21 quite effectively minutes, scoring 14 points , including a key three-pointer late in the game, on an efficient 6/12 from the floor. He sat the Clippers next game against the Sacramento Kings. Leonard did play against the Phoenix Suns, logging another 21 minutes scoring 11 points on 2-6 shooting in the 112-95 loss.
With a team that has aspirations to be playing meaningful games into the summer, easing Kawhi out there in the early part of the season may go a long way toward those ends. In his limited action The Klaw is averaging 12.5 points, 6.5 rebounds 2.0 assists and 1.5 steals per outing.
