Kawhi Leonard, Paul George return to lineup vs. Hornets: What it means for Clippers

The LA Clippers had their two star players, small forward Kawhi Leonard and shooting guard Paul George, back in the lineup together Monday against the Charlotte Hornets for the first time in two weeks. Here’s what you should know:

Leonard scored the game-tying and go-ahead field goals in Monday’s 119-117 win, finishing with 16 points and six rebounds.
Leonard was returning from a sprained right ankle suffered in a home win against the Utah Jazz on Nov. 21.
In the game before that on Nov. 19 against the San Antonio Spurs, George did not play after halftime due to right knee soreness and was later diagnosed with a right hamstring tendon strain.
Leonard missed the last six games and George — who had 19 points and seven assists Monday — missed the last seven. The Clippers went 2-4 in the games both Leonard and George missed since Nov. 23.
Luke Kennard also returned after suffering a right calf strain on Nov. 15 and accounted for nine of the team’s 50 bench points on Monday.

How the Clippers won

With just over 40 seconds left to play and Charlotte up 117-115, George drove to the basket, unlocking a wide-open 3 for Marcus Morris Sr. Morris missed, but George was able to help Leonard control the rebound underneath the basket for the game-tying field goal.

The Clippers didn’t call a timeout after George rebounded Jalen McDaniels’ missed 3-pointer with the score tied at 117. George made sure Leonard got it on the right wing isolated with McDaniels, a fellow San Diego State player. With 1.4 seconds left and the entire right side cleared, Leonard stepped back from McDaniels to create the space for the game-winning field goal. PJ Washington’s desperation fadeaway from 18 feet was no good after Charlotte’s timeouts as time expired.

“Late in the game, the last shot, I just saw how the play was opening up,” George said after the game. “First it was Rozier on (Leonard), so I tried to get that quick early one. But anytime you see Kawhi going to his spot, that’s where he’s comfortable. And that’s where we’re comfortable. So swung the ball. I wanted to get it to him right there, and he took us home on that shot.”

Backstory

Friday was the first time that the Clippers had back-to-back days off in three weeks, allowing George and Leonard to return to a full practice, and coach Tyronn Lue declared that both would be upgraded to questionable for Saturday’s home game against the Kings. Lue cautioned that the return of Leonard and George would come with adjustments for the team, especially since Leonard has only played five games in his first season back from 2021 right knee surgery to repair a partially torn ACL.

Leonard previously returned to the LA lineup on Nov. 17 against the Detroit Pistons after missing 25 days (12 games) due to stiffness in his surgically-repaired right knee. Leonard did not start his first two games of the season but returned as a starter last month, and the Clippers are 4-1 in games Leonard has played. Leonard has yet to reach 25 minutes played in a game this season, and is averaging 10.0 points and 3.4 assists per game.

George had missed only one game this season prior to his leg injury, as he dealt with an illness that forced him to be inactive for an Oct. 25 Clippers road loss against the Oklahoma City Thunder. That was also the same day that Leonard reported stiffness in his knee, starting his period of inactivity. George has been the leader for the Clippers to start the season, averaging 23.6 points, 6.0 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 1.6 steals, and 2.8 3s. George was the Western Conference Player of the Week recipient for Week 3.

Why Leonard and George returning is important

The return of Leonard and George comes at an important time for three reasons.

When those two share the floor this season, the Clippers have outscored their opponents by 38 points in only 65 minutes, and the Clippers have won three of the four games in which Leonard and George have played together.
The Clippers are without another starting wing even after Kennard’s return. Norman Powell suffered a left groin strain in the fourth quarter of the team’s road win against the Portland Trail Blazers on Nov. 29 and has been out since.
The Clippers have a travel-heavy December schedule. Monday’s game was the start of a four-game road trip. They will also end December with a five-game Eastern Conference road trip.

What Clippers’ starting lineup could look like

Lue’s preferred starting lineup is Reggie Jackson at point guard, George and Leonard on the wings, Marcus Morris Sr. at power forward, and Ivica Zubac at center. That five-man group has only played 32 minutes together this season, outscoring opponents by 32 points in that time. The best version of the Clippers has Leonard and George on the floor, and there are no questions about the fit of those two players together. The only question is how long can they actually stay on the floor together.

The Clippers starting lineup of Jackson, George, Leonard, Morris Sr., and Zubac was outscored by 19 points Monday in Charlotte in the 18 minutes they were on the floor together.

But all other Clippers lineups outscored the Hornets by 21 points in the other 30 minutes of the game, and the all-bench unit featuring a returning Luke Kennard, former Hornet Nicolas Batum, North Carolina native John Wall, Terance Mann, and Moses Brown outscored the Hornets 26-15 in 10 minutes.

What they’re saying

“Felt good to be back,” Leonard said after win. “I love this game of basketball. I don’t think anyone loves playing more than me. Maybe watching, but, I love this game. It gives me joy when I’m able to play. That ending is just, it’s great that I was able to make that shot, but you know me. We’re up nine, eight points pretty much the whole game. I would rather close it out then have us finish the game out like that. But it was a good fourth quarter for our second unit and the third.”

Clippers coach Tyronn Lue also had praise for Los Angeles’ bench after the game.

“John Wall, Luke Kennard, Nico’s (Batum) presence on Rozier, just pick him up full court, denying him, trying to tie him down,” Lue said. “Yeah, I thought our bench was huge. They really, in that third quarter, got us back in the game and really won the game for us. I know Kawhi (Leonard) made a big shot, but our bench was huge for us tonight.”

Required reading

(Photo: Jayne Kamin-Oncea / USA Today)