Concerns Over Kawhi Leonard's New Injury Grow After Disappointing Blazers Loss

The Los Angeles Clippers suffered a disappointing loss on Tuesday night against the Portland Trail Blazers. In the midst of a tight race for the No. 8 seed, the Clippers struggled on both ends of the floor to fall to 39-37 for the season. The Blazers are now only half a game behind in the standings with less than two weeks left in the regular season.

However, there was a bigger concern than the loss. After the game, Kawhi Leonard revealed that he has been playing through a wrist injury since last week. The 34-year-old forward said that he hurt his wrist on a fall in the win over the Raptors last week, before adding, "Just fighting through. Just fighting through, really. That’s all I can tell you. That’s it," per team insider Joey Linn.

Kawhi Leonard's Wrist Injury Clearly Impacting His Shot

Seeing Leonard struggle with his shot all night, that wasn't surprising to hear. Leonard was 0/5 from three and 7/15 from the field for 23 points in 36 minutes. At times, he looked hesitant to go up and shoot, even when he was able to get to his spots. Portland's physical defenders seemed to be bothering him, forcing Leonard to one of his worst offensive performances in a while.

Leonard has been overly aggressive and dominant over the last few months, taking more off-the-dribble shots than ever. That wasn't the case on Tuesday night, despite the game arguably being the most important game of the season so far for the Clippers.

This isn't the first time we have heard about Kawhi's wrist. Last Friday, when Leonard was discussing his game-winning shot against the Pacers, he revealed that he was dealing with a wrist issue and considered giving the last shot to Darius Garland because of it. The play was eventually drawn up for him, and he said, "I'm about to shoot that s*** as high as I can" to the coaching staff before sinking the jumper.

While it's a positive sign that Leonard is pushing through, going out there, and playing significant minutes, this is a concern for the Clippers going forward. Since LA will be in the play-in tournament, there will not be an opportunity for Leonard to get extra rest between now and the playoffs.

The Clippers play six games in ten days, starting with Thursday's game against the Spurs. They desperately need Leonard to hold onto the eighth seed, so he will need to keep playing through the injury. There is not much Clippers fans can do except to hope that the injury isn't reaggravated and that Leonard can find his stroke again.