Top Ad
I DIG Radio
www.idigradio.com
Listen live to the best music from around the world!
I DIG Style
www.idigstyle.com
Learn about the latest fashion styles and more...

Kawhi enters season fully recovered, 'ready to go'

Written by 
Published in Basketball
Tuesday, 24 October 2023 16:12

PLAYA VISTA, Calif. -- After an entire training camp and preseason without any restrictions or setbacks, Kawhi Leonard said he's feeling as good as he has since tearing his right ACL over two years ago.

Leonard is fully recovered from his torn ACL, having had surgery on it July 13, 2021, and a cleanup procedure June 6 to repair a torn meniscus suffered in the same knee during last season's first round against Phoenix.

"I feel good and I'm ready to go," Leonard said before Clippers practice Tuesday. "I think last year came off of ACL, so pretty much it's like a two-year process. Talking to guys [who suffered ACL injuries] and seeing when they do start feeling good or just trusting your knee, it's just something that you feel and I mean one day just turns around for you. So it wasn't really nothing too different."

Asked whether he had crossed that day when it turned around for him, Leonard confirmed that he is past it.

"Yeah, I'm saying I feel good," he said.

The Clippers, though, will still go into Wednesday's home opener against Portland short-handed. Newly named starter Terance Mann sprained his left ankle during Monday's practice and has been ruled out against the Blazers. Ty Lue said Mann will be considered day-to-day. Backup point guard Bones Hyland, who sprained his left ankle during a preseason game last week, practiced Tuesday, and Lue said the team will see how Hyland feels before determining his status for the opener.

At least Lue will have Leonard in a season opener without any restrictions for the first time during his tenure as Clippers coach. In Lue's previous three seasons as their head coach, Leonard was limited or injured for the opener.

Leonard missed all of the 2021-22 season before starting last season under careful restrictions. He experienced stiffness in his surgically repaired knee, which cost him 12 games. He later suffered a sprained right ankle that cost him six more games early in the season.

But Leonard ramped his way back to a dominant first two playoff games against Phoenix, averaging 34.5 points, 6.0 assists and 6.5 rebounds before missing the remainder of the series with the meniscus injury.

"It wasn't about just performance and putting up numbers," Leonard said of how he gauged his comeback from the ACL injury. "It's about how your overall body's feeling at the time, and I felt like I was still trying to get through some humps and just get healthy. But I was able to show fans or other players in the league and myself that I was able to play at a high level.

"On-court stuff, you're going to have ups and downs. If you're rating a game off of missed shots or minutes played, it is tough to try to measure yourself to being a great player. But at that point [last regular season] I was just trying to get healthy, just trying to move, and I knew numbers would come. I wasn't really focused on that at the time. Trying to win games, that's what I'm focused on."

Lue can finally coach an opener with a fully unleashed Leonard.

"That's how I feel," Lue said. "It's different when you have restrictions. You can't play live the whole time. You can't go through all the execution plays you want to go through, and so it's a big difference. And so like I said, with him and [Paul George] and [Russell Westbrook] coming in this year, just setting the tone early in training camp, all the conditioning, with all the running we did, like, no complaining and we just did it. And so that was our mindset coming into it.

"We want to get out to a good start this season. We don't want to ease into the season."

Read 123 times

Soccer

Atléti mark Simeone's 700th game with late win

Atléti mark Simeone's 700th game with late win

Diego Simeone's 700th game in charge of Atlético Madrid ended in a late 2-1 win over Deportivo Alave...

Sources: Olof Mellberg to become St.Louis boss

Sources: Olof Mellberg to become St.Louis boss

EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsFormer Aston Villa and Sweden defender Olof Mellberg has signed a m...

Arteta backs Saka amid Kane drop-outs comment

Arteta backs Saka amid Kane drop-outs comment

EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsMikel Arteta has hit back at anyone questioning Bukayo Saka's commi...

2026 FIFA


2028 LOS ANGELES OLYMPIC

UEFA

2024 PARIS OLYMPIC


Basketball

NBA follows NFL in warning players on burglaries

NBA follows NFL in warning players on burglaries

EmailPrintThe NBA is urging its players to take additional precautions to secure their homes followi...

Sources: Zion (hamstring) not close to returning

Sources: Zion (hamstring) not close to returning

EmailPrintNew Orleans Pelicans star Zion Williamson has undergone multiple treatments on his left ha...

Baseball

Hays, Finnegan, Rodgers among new free agents

Hays, Finnegan, Rodgers among new free agents

EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsNEW YORK -- Outfielder Austin Hays and right-hander Kyle Finnegan -...

Judge giving Soto space amid free agency frenzy

Judge giving Soto space amid free agency frenzy

EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsNEW YORK -- Aaron Judge is one of the few people on Earth who can r...

Sports Leagues

  • FIFA

    Fédération Internationale de Football Association
  • NBA

    National Basketball Association
  • ATP

    Association of Tennis Professionals
  • MLB

    Major League Baseball
  • ITTF

    International Table Tennis Federation
  • NFL

    Nactional Football Leagues
  • FISB

    Federation Internationale de Speedball

About Us

I Dig® is a leading global brand that makes it more enjoyable to surf the internet, conduct transactions and access, share, and create information.  Today I Dig® attracts millions of users every month.r

 

Phone: (800) 737. 6040
Fax: (800) 825 5558
Website: www.idig.com
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Affiliated