LA Clippers: Three Things We Learned Vs. The Nuggets

LA Clippers Takeaway #2: Kawhi Leonard is Human (But He’ll Be Fine!)

In the fourth quarter of the LA Clippers’ win over the Nuggets, Kawhi Leonard took a scary shot. Serge Ibaka was going up to grab a defensive rebound and his elbow met Kawhi’s jaw. As the play continued, Kawhi crumpled to the ground, bleeding pretty profusely from the mouth.

He’d miss the rest of the game, leaving the rest of the Clippers to successfully hold onto the lead. After the game, everyone wanted to hear from Ty Lue about the status of Kawhi; Coach assured us that Kawhi would be “fine,” but also said he didn’t see it happen.

After the game, Nic Batum saw Kawhi and said he seemed “ok,” suggesting that the injury might not have been quite as bad as it seemed like it could have been on the court.

It has since come out that Kawhi got 8 stitches for a mouth laceration, but it doesn’t sound like there’s anything worse than that. I’m sure it doesn’t feel like “just” a mouth laceration to Kawhi, but escaping a Serge Ibaka elbow to the jaw without missing extended time is a victory.

So our terminator is indeed human, and he does bleed, but don’t expect to see Kawhi missing many games, if any. And we’ll need him for our next two matchups, when we’ll face Luka’s Mavericks and Dame’s Trail Blazers.

Keep posted for more updates on Kawhi, as there hasn’t been (as of this writing) any mention of his availability going forward.