LA Clippers coach Ty Lue gave a positive update on Kawhi Leonard before Friday’s game in Minnesota. Leonard has missed the entire season to this point, as he’s recovering from offseason knee surgery.
“He’s progressing well. He’s been able to get on the court and do some things on the court, which is good for us,” Lue said about Leonard. “So just still checking every box, making sure that he’s doing the right things and his workouts are really good and making sure we don’t let him get to the next step until he checks those boxes, so our medical staff has done a great job with that, making sure that we make sure he’s 100% when he comes back.”
Leonard played in 68 games last season for the Clippers. The star forward put together a terrific all-around season. However, Leonard was limited to playing in just two of LA’s playoff games, as they fell to the Dallas Mavericks in six games in the first round.
New York Knicks wing Mikal Bridges is one of the NBA’s true ironmen, often leading the league in games and minutes played. That’s why it was strange to see Bridges on the bench for most of the fourth quarter in a back-and-forth Knicks victory over the Charlotte Hornets on Friday afternoon.
New York coach Tom Thibodeau went with Miles McBride for most of the quarter because he felt the Knicks were “stuck in the mud” on offense. Thibodeau also referenced McBride being “fresher” and that the Knicks sixth man was “making shots”.
For his part, Bridges agreed that his coach “made the right decision”. Bridges put it on himself to make sure he’s on the floor during crunch time.
“I got to play better. I’ve been inconsistent,” Bridges said. “I’ve had some games where I’ve played good, some I haven’t. Just got to find a rhythm within the team. That’s pretty much it. Not even 20 games in, still just trying to figure it out.”
