Kawhi Leonard says he will play in Game 6
By Nam Tran
Kawhi Leonard suffered a bad ankle injury in Game 5 and was forced to stay on the bench during overtime, but said that he will be able to play in Game 6.
On Tuesday night, the Spurs’ Kawhi Leonard suffered an ankle injury in the third quarter of Game 5. Around the middle of the quarter, the forward tripped on James Harden’s foot as he turned around to run up the court after a Spurs’ steal. Leonard remained in the game and played the rest of the third quarter, but sat out most of the fourth quarter. He was also benched the entire overtime period.
However, despite being in discomfort and ineffective the majority of the fourth quarter, Leonard said that he will be ready to play in Game 6 on Thursday.
"“Yeah, I’m going to be able to play,” Leonard said. “It was frustrating because I wanted to play. But I was happy seeing my teammates out there putting in a good effort and getting the win.”"
This playoff series has been tough for the Spurs. But the last three games were especially tough because Tony Parker was out of the lineup due to a leg injury. If Leonard is unable to play in Game 6, the team will not only be missing a former All-Star point guard, but they will also be missing their best player. Manu Ginobili doesn’t even want to think about the possibility of Leonard sitting out because the game will be “very hard” for the Spurs.
"“I don’t even want to think about it because Kawhi became our go-to guy, our 3 guy, 3 defender, rebounder,” Ginobili said. “He does a ton of things for us. If he can’t be out there, it’s going to be very hard to react to it. For sure, it’s going to be a tough battle over there.”"
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In Game 5, Leonard did a bit of everything and recorded 22 points, 15 rebounds, four assists, two steals and two blocks. If he sits out of Game 6, the Spurs are going to be in trouble, unless Ginobili is able to unleash his younger self once more.