Is Kawhi Leonard playing tonight against the Phoenix Suns? | February 16th, 2023 | 2022-23 NBA Season

Kawhi Leonard's LA Clippers will take on the Phoenix Suns in their final NBA match before the All-Star break.

The Clippers won their last game against the Golden State Warriors and are currently fifth in the Western Conference with a 32-28 record. Winning against the fourth-placed Suns will allow them to move into fourth themselves.

Leonard has had multiple injury concerns this season, which played a part in him missing out on the All-Star selection. For LA Clippers fans, this need not be negative news. A fit and firing Kawhi Leonard is a big need for the Clippers and an extended break might be useful.

Leonard recently sat out the loss against the Milwaukee Bucks but was the leading man against the Warriors. He was placed on the injury list due to knee injury management but looks to have fully recovered for the time being.

Kawhi Leonard is expected to be part of the starting lineup against the Phoenix Suns and might as well end up playing a starring role.

Kawhi Leonard will be intent on proving his critics wrong

The fact that Leonard was not selected for the All-Star team came as a surprise despite his injury concerns. Like Anthony Davis of city rivals the LA Lakers, Leonard missed out despite delivering an impressive stat line on most of the nights he has suited up.

Leonard is averaging 22.3 points, 6.2 rebounds and 4 assists per game, along with 1.5 steals and 0.5 blocks as well. Leonard is still one of the best two-way players in the league and is crucial to his team’s chances this season. Leonard missed the entirety of last season due to a torn ACL.

He has proved critical to his team’s success over the last few weeks, especially in the build-up to the announcement of the All-Star team. Paul George was named as LA Clippers’ only All-Star player. Coach Tyronn Lue reacted to the news by claiming that Kawhi Leonard was just as important to the team:

“Just showing you how important they are to this team. When those two guys play, we’re a totally different team and when you construct a team around two players, it’s kind of hard.

"With those two guys on the floor, you see the team that we really are on both sides of the basketball, so what they have meant to winning, how they play at a high level, that shows you what kind of team we can be when we’re healthy.”

We will see if the Clippers can get a much-needed win over the Suns later.