The L.A. Clippers have listed star forward Kawhi Leonard as questionable for Sunday's game against the Golden State Warriors, leaving their pacific rival guessing as the two teams prepare for what is a likely matchup in the Play-In Tournament just days later.
Leonard is listed as questionable to face the Warriors with an ankle sprain, but his playing status is less about injury and more about whether they really want to give too much away ahead of the far more important game on Wednesday.
Clippers leaving Warriors guessing with Kawhi Leonard's status
The Clippers do appear like they're going to play the rest of their main rotation in Sunday's tune up game. They'll be without Bradley Beal and Yanic Konan Niederhauser who have both suffered season-ending injuries, while Isiah Jackson is also out with an ankle sprain.
The Clippers are a completely different proposition with or without Leonard though, having generated a 37-28 record in the 34-year-old's 65 games this season, as opposed to 4-12 with him on the sidelines.
Even if the Clippers beat the Warriors on Sunday at the Intuit Dome, they'd remain as the ninth-seed in the final standings so long as the eight-seed Portland Trail Blazers beat the Sacramento Kings in a game they'll enter as heavy favorites. Both games will start at the same time at 5:30pm Pacific Time.
Leonard has arguably had his best season ever, averaging a career-high 27.9 points to go with 6.4 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.9 steals, shooting a highly efficient 50.5% from the floor and 38.7% from 3-point range. His 65 games are also the second-most he's played in a season since 2016-17 year back with the San Antonio Spurs.
After the Clippers moved on from stars James Harden and Ivica Zubac, the Warriors inquired about a shock trade for Leonard prior to February's deadline, and reportedly actually got close to pulling off a deal according to Tim Kawakami of The San Francisco Standard.
Warriors using Sunday's game to build rhythm and confidence
While the Clippers have left Leonard's status for Sunday's game up in the air, the Warriors can't afford to pass up the opportunity to get important playing time into their starters ahead of Wednesday's game.
Stephen Curry, Kristaps Porzingis, Al Horford and Gui Santos will all play after each recently missed various time with injury. but they could play limited minutes as Golden State prioritize their health for the Play-In Tournament.
Draymond Green has managed to avoid the injury bug that's struck the Warriors this season, and the veteran forward could be rested on Sunday as he's listed as questionable due to lower back injury management.