Clippers Injury Report vs. Raptors: Is Kawhi Leonard Playing in 1st Game Back in LA?

The LA Clippers desperately need to turn their season around after losing five games in a row. They have been one of the worst teams in the league after their season-opening win against the Sacramento Kings. They will be facing an uphill battle on the second night of a back-to-back against the Toronto Raptors.

To make matters worse, the Clippers' list of injuries is continuing to grow. They have six players on the injury report ahead of Monday night's clash.

Kawhi Leonard Out for Raptors, Clippers Missing Multiple Starters

When the schedule was first announced, this was one of the games Clippers fans had circled. However, the game quickly lost its oomph when the Raptors announced that Kawhi Leonard would be sidelined for multiple weeks due to a left knee injury.

The former Clippers star has missed the last four games, and he will not be available for his first game back at the Intuit Dome. In fact, Leonard isn't expected to be in the arena for the only game he has on the road against the Clippers this season.

In Kawhi's absence, the Raptors have gone 1-3, including last night's loss to the Lakers. They will also have tired legs on the second night of a back-to-back. Plus, Leonard's isn't the only injury they are dealing with. Scottie Barnes and Jakob Poeltl are listed as questionable on the injury report with less than five hours left before tipoff. They will be game-time decisions.

Unfortunately, they will still be at an advantage over the injury-ridden Clippers. LA is finally getting Max Strus back after the veteran shooting guard missed the first six games of the season with a partial plantar fascia tear. But they will be without Rui Hachimura and Derrick Jones Jr. against the Raptors, bringing the number of their injured rotation players to six.

Hachimura and Jones Jr. will be joining Brandon Ingram, Bradley Beal, Jordan Miller, and Yanic Konan Niederhauser on the sidelines. Ingram and Konan Niederhauser are expected to make a return sooner rather than later. Miller will miss at least the next few months after undergoing rotator cuff surgery, and Beal remains without a timetable to return as he deals with a nagging right knee problem.

These absences leave the Clippers especially short-handed in the frontcourt. Strus will likely get the start next to Kris Dunn and Darius Garland. At the power forward spot, the Clippers can either go with rookie Baba Miller or have undersized Kobe Sanders fill in. Alternatively, Brook Lopez could start at center, and Isaiah Jackson could slide down to the four.

None of these is an ideal solution. The Clippers are running out of bodies. And while it's good that they will not be facing Kawhi in this situation, they will still have their hands full against a better team.

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