San Antonio Spurs forward Kawhi Leonard a game-time decision for Tuesday’s game against Clippers
By Brad Rowland
Earlier in the day on Tuesday, the San Antonio Spurs (and more specifically, Gregg Popovich) announced that his point guard, Tony Parker, will be out for the “foreseeable future”, but buried in that negativity was the revelation that they could have a high-profile addition on Tuesday night.
Popovich referred to injured small forward Kawhi Leonard as a “game-time decision” during his morning press conference, and the team’s Twitter account shed some additional light.
Leonard is officially listed as doubtful, but Pop said he'll be looked at pregame to see if he can go.
— San Antonio Spurs (@spurs) February 18, 2014
The 22-year-old Leonard has missed the last 11 games as a result of a fractured hand, but he was scheduled to return to practice on Monday, and all indications are that he is close to returning despite the “doubtful” listing. Leonard is, by far, the best wing defender on the San Antonio roster, and without Parker in the lineup, his presence could be huge in keeping the Spurs near the top of the Western Conference.
It is too early to assume that he’ll be back on Tuesday or even for San Antonio’s road game in Portland on Wednesday, but the fact that Leonard is this close to returning is huge for the banged-up Spurs.