Kawhi Leonard’s injury status remains unknown as LA Clippers continue to play coy

LOS ANGELES - The NBA postseason is in full swing and perhaps no team is feeling the pressure more than the Los Angeles Clippers as they enter the NBA playoffs with four future Hall of Famers – Kawhi Leonard, Russell Westbrook, James Harden and Paul George.

UPDATE: Kawhi Leonard injury update: LA Clippers remain ‘hopeful’ he’ll be available for Game 1 in Mavs series

The four of them know their championship window is closing and the stars' ages range between 32 and 35. 

As a franchise, the Clippers are still one of the ten teams in the league without an NBA championship and are one of five franchises that have yet to make it to the NBA Finals. 

Back on Media Day, Clippers big man Ivica Zubac said they are hoping for different results while he thanked fans for supporting them through the team's ups and downs through the years. 

"We’re going to try it again. We’re going to try to go out there and try to win that championship for the Clippers. It never happened before. I know it’s been tough staying with us and supporting us," he said. "I know we disappointed a lot of people," he said. "This year, it’s going to be different. We’re going to be sure that we do you guys proud."

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Now, it's time for the Clippers to put that into action.

The Clippers are 2-1 against the Mavericks this season. However, the two teams haven’t faced each other since the Mavericks traded for P.J. Washington, Daniel Gafford, and Dereck Lively II ahead of February’s trade deadline. 

Dallas went on a remarkable run and had an 18-9 record after the All-Star break. It wasn't exactly smooth sailing for the Clips, who went 15-14 during that time. 

After hitting a bit of a slump after the All-Star break, George said they'd "lost their identity," and Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue called his team "soft." Now, Coach Lue said they’ve rediscovered who they are.

"We play hard, every position," Lue told reporters Tuesday. " Physicality, defensively, obviously space, playing with pace get into our sets quicker. And the last seven or eight games, we've shown what we can do." 

Even if they play hard, they have quite the undertaking ahead of them. The series will be even more challenging if their best player, Kawhi Leonard, is unavailable.

The No. 4 seed Clippers take on the No. 5 seed Dallas Mavericks for the first-round playoff series beginning Sunday, April 21. 

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More on what to know ahead of the playoff series below.

Will Kawhi Leonard be ready by Game 1?

Kawhi Leonard's status for Game 1 of the series remains unknown.

Leonard, who has dealt with numerous injuries throughout his career, missed the final eight games of the regular season with right knee inflammation. The Clippers remain tight-lipped about his status and on Tuesday, head coach Tyronn Lue remained discreet about the topic.  

When asked if Leonard will be available by Game 1, Lue simply stated: "We'll see." 

Lue did offer some hope and said Leonard would participate in "a quarter" of the team's practice. 

The two-time NBA Finals MVP played in 68 games this season and averaged 23.7 points, 6.1 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game. 

What will Russell Westbrook’s role be?

Tyronn Lue said Russell Westbrook would be a "huge factor." 

"I think his pace, offensively is huge for us. We had to push the basketball, get to the paint, make plays and then defensively be able to guard, you know, four different positions, at times, five. So put him on Kyrie. You can play well Luka. You can put him on Gafford. You know you can put him on PJ Washington. So his versatility is huge for us."

How do the Clippers plan to slow down Luka and Kyrie?

There is no denying the unbelievable power duo of Luka Donic and Kyrie Irving. 

"That’s a tough match," Lue said. 

He continued to explain, "When you play against great players, especially great offensive players, you aren’t necessarily going to shut them down, but you’ve got to make them work, you’ve got to make it hard on them. You’ve got to make the physicality, you’ve got to make things tough. And so that's got to be our mindset going into Game 1."

Ivica Zubac also said he expects Doncic to put up big numbers. 

"It's not easy watching a guy score that much and stuff like that. But he's an incredible player. You know, he's going to he's going to get his most of the time and we just we got to make it tough for him," Zubac said. 

He said it will also be important not to let Doncic's scoring impact his focus.

"We got to make it, really tough for him, wearing him down on both hands and, you know, just next play mentality where they're going to make shots, they're going to make plays. And we just got to know we got to stay locked in and to what we're trying to do defensively. What we're willing to give up and execute our stuff offensively. And, I think we should be good," Zubac said.

Familiar postseason opponents

This marks the third time the Clippers and Mavericks will face each other in the postseason within the past five years.

In 2020, the Los Angeles Clippers eliminated the Mavericks in a six-game series in the first round of the playoffs and the following season, there was a rematch. Once again, the Clippers sent Dallas packing after a seven-game battle. 

Center Ivica Zubac said the team is locked in and is looking forward to the rematch. 

"There's no easy matchups in the playoffs, especially in the West. And, that's just who we got," Zubac said. "We cannot wait for Sunday, for the game to start, you know, to start this thing, and that's it. Everyone's excited."

Zubac said while they're facing Dallas again, both teams look a lot different from when they last met in the postseason. 

"I think both teams play a little different than before, so I think it's going to be different," he said. 

What is the playoff series schedule?

The Clippers have home-court advance for the first-round series. The series schedule is as follows (all times listed in Pacific Time): 

• Game 1: Mavericks at Clippers on Sunday, April 21 at 12:30 p.m.
• Game 2: Mavericks at Clippers on Tuesday, April 23 at 7 p.m.
• Game 3: Clippers at Mavericks on Friday, April 26 at 5 p.m.
• Game 4: Clippers at Mavericks on Sunday, April 28 at 12:30 p.m.
• Game 5: Mavericks at Clippers on Wednesday, May 1 (Time TBD)
• Game 6: Clippers at Mavericks on Friday, May 3*
• Game 7: Mavericks at Clippers on Sunday, May 5*

* if necessary