LA Clippers star Kawhi Leonard will not play in Saturday's contest against the Portland Trail Blazers — the first leg of a back-to-back.
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00:00 LA Clippers star forward Kawhi Leonard will not play in Saturday's contest in Portland Trail Blazers.
00:05 The decision was made early this morning for the LA Times' Andrew Greif,
00:08 but that's come as a big surprise.
00:10 The Clippers have played back-to-back this season. Leonard typically has rested in the first game and plays the second game to maximize rest.
00:17 LA will face off the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday, which Leonard will presumably suit up for.
00:21 The Clippers were already going to be shorthanded for this meeting today against the Blazers,
00:25 as Patrick Beverley and Montrezl Harrell both made unavailable for the game on Friday.
00:29 Beverley due to a calf strain and Harrell still unavailable as he tended to a family matter.
00:33 Leonard's absence will only make things more difficult for LA now against a very motivated Portland team.
00:39 The Blazers have gone 3-1 in the bubble so far, with wins over the Denver Nuggets, Houston Rockets, and Memphis Grizzlies.
00:45 The lone loss being a four-point defeat at the hands of Boston Celtics.
00:49 Without Leonard and Beverley, the Clippers will have their hands full defensively.
00:52 Portland is scoring nearly 125 points per game in the bubble and star guard Damian Lillard has been a huge part of that.
00:58 The 30-year-old is averaging 31.3 points and 11.3 assists and knocking down close to 44% of his 12 three-point attempts per game
01:06 so far in these bubble games.
01:08 The Blazers have also got some excellent play at Yusuf Nurkic as well, who made a season debut on July 31st.
01:13 He's posting averages 22 points, 11 rebounds, and 3 blocks per contest so far.
01:17 Of course, all isn't lost for LA. Paul George has looked phenomenal in these games so far.
01:23 Portland has struggled to contain wins all year long.
01:25 So look for him to have a monster game if someone does have one,
01:28 especially because there is some bad blood between Paul George and the Blazers.
01:31 If Clippers end up losing this one though,
01:33 there's still hope that they'll be able to hang on to the Western Conference's number two seed. As it stands, LA has a one-and-a-half game
01:39 lead over Denver, and Denver's next few opponents include the Utah Jazz, Los Angeles Lakers, the Clippers, and Toronto Raptors.
01:45 If anything, a win here for the Blazers could make things more difficult for the Lakers.
01:49 Portland is still the number nine seed out west, but if they close the gap with the Memphis Grizzlies for the eighth seed,
01:54 Lulu and company would be a much more difficult first round opponent for Los Angeles,
01:58 which is help the Clippers in the long run if those two teams are to meet in the Conference Finals.
02:02 Clippers and Blazers will meet today at 1 p.m. Eastern Time. The game will air on TNT and of course on Prime Ticket.
02:08 (thud)