Kawhi Leonard to Come off Bench for Clippers vs. Lakers In Return from ACL Injury

The Los Angeles Clippers will bring Kawhi Leonard off the bench during Thursday's season opener against the Los Angeles Lakers.

Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports reported earlier in the day that the team was considering using Leonard off the bench to start the season, a move that would be made in an effort to manage Leonard's minutes after he missed the entire 2021-22 campaign with a torn ACL.

Leonard is no stranger to taking on a lighter workload than most players during the regular season to be fresh and healthy for the playoffs.

Ever since the San Antonio Spurs traded Kawhi to the Toronto Raptors in 2018, the five-time All-Star and two-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year has strategically missed games for the purpose of load management.

Leonard was limited to 60 regular-season games in his only campaign with the Raptors, and the move paid dividends, as he led Toronto to its first NBA championship and was named NBA Finals MVP for the second time in his career.

While COVID-19 caused the shortening of the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons, Leonard still rested at times during those seasons, appearing in 57 games in 2019-20 and 52 games the following season.

Despite the minutes limit, Leonard suffered a torn ACL during the 2021 playoffs and did not play at all last season.

With Leonard returning to the team, the Clippers are considered strong contenders to represent the Western Conference in the NBA Finals this season, as he will join forces with the likes of Paul George, John Wall, Norman Powell, Ivica Zubac and Reggie Jackson, among others.

The Clips have arguably one of the deepest teams in the NBA, and that alone should allow head coach Ty Lue to play it smart with Leonard regarding his minutes.

Coming off the bench could be one way to accomplish that, but Lue could also pull Leonard earlier when he starts and give him a more extended rest on the bench before putting him back in games.

Of the 576 regular-season games Kawhi has appeared in, 549 have been starts, and he has not come off the bench since doing it once in 2013-14, which was his third NBA season.

At 31 years of age, Leonard is likely most comfortable as a starter, and shifting him to the bench could be a risk in terms of getting Leonard out of his usual rhythm.

For at least Thursday night, though, Leonard will be used off the bench as he gets eased back into action.