Kawhi Leonard’s Raptors return is off to a rocky start. He played two games in which he shot just 32.4% from the field and 28.6% from behind the arc. Since then, he has been out with a left knee injury, and the Raptors are 3-7 without him, including a disappointing loss to the Boston Celtics after blowing a 22-point lead. They also had to deal with absences from Scottie Barnes, Immanuel Quickley, Jakob Poeltl, and Collin Murray-Boyles, which made surviving Leonard’s absence even more difficult.
On November 10, it was reported that Leonard would be out at least one more week. So, technically (although probably unrealistic), he could be back for the Raptors’ second meeting with the New York Knicks on the 17th or for their game against the Washington Wizards after that. However, he might also not return to the court until the end of the month. The Raptors game against the Brooklyn Nets would be a good opportunity to ease him back into game action, as Sportsnet’s Michael Grange outlined.
“The next official upset should come early next week,” Grange wrote. “It’s conceivable that Leonard could be cleared to play by then, but as I look at the Raptors’ schedule, I think it’s more likely that he could return by Toronto’s game on Nov. 27th at home against Brooklyn. The Raptors have a stretch at the end of the month where they are home for a week and play just once in six days. That should give Leonard a chance to go through some live practices before suiting up for a game, which is fairly standard procedure.”
On one hand, five more games without Leonard could make for a prolonged rough stretch, especially if Barnes continues to miss games, if others don’t step up big time against the New York Knicks, Washington Wizards, and Detroit Pistons. On the other hand, the Raptors shouldn’t rush Leonard back too early only to watch him get injured again.
The Raptors need Leonard back, but they also need him to stay healthy
The Raptors’ 5-7 start isn’t what fans, players, or the organization had hoped for when they finally completed the trade for Leonard. But the season is still young. There are still 70 games left for the Raptors to make up for this slow start.
It will be an uphill battle if they continue to lose with Leonard sidelined, but they certainly won’t be able to make up for these early losses if Leonard cannot stay healthy after this first lengthy absence.
So, as difficult as it may be to stay patient at the moment, it might be for the best that the Raptors are giving Leonard plenty of time to recover fully before asking him to get back on the court. He won’t do the team any good if he sustains a more serious injury after returning too soon.
Add us as a preferred source on Google