The Western Conference Finals are only a day away. The Spurs and Warriors are the teams fighting for a chance at a spot in the NBA Finals. Both teams will need all hands on deck for this series and the Spurs almost didn't have the best player available. Kawhi Leonard was battling ankle and knee injuries which caused him to miss the Spurs' series-clinching win against the Rockets. It was good that they ended that series quickly, as they didn't have to worry about Kawhi further injuring himself and he could get a few days rest. Those few extra days paid off as Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said that Kawhi Leonard is going to play in Game 1 on Sunday.
Banged up
Kawhi Leonard needed these extra few days to rest from his nagging injuries. He injured his ankle Game 5 against the Rockets when he turned to get back on defense in the third quarter. He played sparingly in the fourth quarter and didn't play in overtime, but the Spurs still got the win. The Spurs didn't want to risk any further injury and felt confident that they were going to finish off the Rockets, keeping him out of Game 6 as well. Leonard has been a workhorse this postseason, playing well on the offensive and defensive side of the ball. Leonard has been pretty healthy throughout his career so this was a scare for Spurs fans, but they knew he wasn't going to be out for too long.
Gregg Popovich said Leonard was "absolutely" a participant in the team's practice Saturday. This is great news, as the Spurs already lost veteran guard Tony Parker for the rest of the playoffs due to a quad injury.
They need Kawhi
Kawhi Leonard needs to play in this series against the Warriors. He has averaged 28 points in the playoffs and he has been the most consistent scorer for the Spurs.
His defensive skills will take out one of the Warriors players completely and that can give the other Spurs players help when guarding the other stars the Warriors have.
The Spurs are happy that Kawhi is ready to go for the Western Conference Finals. He might be the one thing that can stop the Warriors and their high-powered offense. This series begins on Sunday, May 14, at 3:30 p.m. on ABC.
