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Kawhi Leonard missed the LA Clippers' last four games in 2023 due to injury but returned on New Year's Day to help beat the Miami Heat. The Clippers have won four games in a row heading into Friday's game away from Crypto.com Arena, but is Leonard playing tonight against the New Orleans Pelicans?
According to the latest Clippers injury report, only one player is set to miss the game at the Smoothie King Center. Moussa Diabite is out with a right hand injury, suffering a metacarpal fracture on Jan. 1 against the Heat.
That means Kawhi Leonard will be suiting up for the Clippers and trying to help them extend the winning streak to five. Leonard has been relatively healthy this season, averaging 24.6 points, 6.0 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.6 steals per game.
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What happened to Kawhi Leonard?
Leonard played the first 27 games of the season for the LA Clippers before missing four straight games from Dec. 21 to Dec. 29. He suffered a hip contusion against the Dallas Mavericks on Dec. 20, but it seems like the injury was not new.
Clippers coach Ty Lue said after Leonard was ruled out that he initially suffered the injury on Dec. 8 against the Utah Jazz. He played through it before re-aggravating it in the win over the Mavericks.
Leonard became prone to injuries after joining the Clippers in the summer of 2019. He was just coming off winning his second NBA championship, leading the Toronto Raptors against the Golden State Warriors in the 2019 NBA Finals. He has missed 151 regular-season games for the Clippers so far.
Kawhi Leonard stats vs Pelicans
The LA Clippers will have their hands full against the New Orleans Pelicans. While the Clippers are among the hottest teams in the NBA at the moment, the Pelicans are on a four-game winning streak and have seven wins in their last 10 games.
It could have been nine wins had they not blown a couple of games to the Ja Morant and the Memphis Grizzlies.
Kawhi Leonard has faced the Pelicans 30 times, averaging 18.7 points, 5.7 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.5 assists. Leonard has a winning 20-14 record against New Orleans 20-14 but is 4-4 with the Clippers.
Pelicans Fan? Check out the latest New Orlean Pelicans depth chart, schedule, and roster updates all in one place.
