Since 2019 when the Los Angeles Clippers acquired Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, there have been widespread questions on whether the franchise cares about the regular season. Leonard has dealt with serious injuries in his career and has been on the forefront of strategically sitting out games in hopes of extending his career and being available for the playoffs.

Leonard tore his meniscus during the Clippers' first round series less than two years his 2021 playoffs ended early due to a torn ACL.

"We have to be honest with ourselves," said Lawrence Frank. "We have to look in the mirror. It starts with me. We have to get back to honoring and respecting the regular season."

The Clippers finished the regular season as the No. 5 seed. In the four seasons since acquiring Leonard and George, they have finished the regular season second, fourth, eighth and fifth in the Western Conference.

"The regular season matters," Frank added. "Not that our guys don’t think it matters. I think all of us, starting with me, we can compete harder every single day. We can hold each other accountable every day."

Kawhi Leonard has been diagnosed with a torn meniscus in his right knee.

Leonard played in the first two games of the Los Angeles Clippers' first round series against the Phoenix Suns where he averaged 35 points per game. Leonard missed Games 3, 4 and 5 with the injury in which he was listed as day-to-day.

Leonard is signed with the Clippers through the 24-25 season and he can become a free agent in 2024 if he declines his player option.

Leonard suffered a partially torn ACL during the 2021 playoffs, which led him to miss the entire 21-22 season.

The LA Clippers were eliminated in five games by the Phoenix Suns in the first round of the playoffs on Tuesday night. That followed a season where LA missed out on the postseason entirely, after falling in the 2022 Play-In Tournament.

Despite the recent lack of success, Ty Lue said he expects to return as the Clippers head coach next season. When asked that exact question, Lue responded with a simple: "I do."

In three seasons as the Clippers coach, Lue has gone 133-103 in the regular season and 11-13 in the playoffs. He's dealt with uncertainty with his roster for his entire run as LA's head coach, as Kawhi Leonard and Paul George have missed considerable time in both the regular season and postseason.

Russell Westbrook reflected on his time with the Los Angeles Clippers after their season came to an end with a Game 5 loss against the Phoenix Suns. Westbrook said he loved his time with the Clippers and said appreciated being embraced by the franchise and the fans.

Westbrook went on to explain the sense of relief he felt was he was traded by the Los Angeles Lakers. When asked when he felt that weight being lifted, Westbrook said it happened right away.

"Once I got traded. Immediately, to be honest. From that moment, honestly, mentally, I was in a better place."

Westbrook joined the Clippers on a deal for the remainder of the season after his buyout from the Utah Jazz.

"You know what, this will be probably my first time actually in my career being able to make a decision," Westbrook said of his future. "One thing I do tell you is that I love it here. I love the people, just the fans overall embracing not just me but my family and close friends. I know a lot of things have happened [this season], but I'm grateful. I definitely love being here.

"As far as making a decision, I guess I'll cross that bridge when I get there. I don't really know my process because it's kind of my first time doing this. So we'll see what happens."

The Los Angeles Clippers ruled Kawhi Leonard out for Game 5 against the Phoenix Suns due to a right knee sprain.

Leonard suffered the injury in Game 1 and made it worse by playing in Game 2.

Leonard received treatment on Monday, but did not practice.

Ty Lue defended Leonard on Monday, saying that the Clippers star is "definitely hurt."

Kawhi Leonard missed Games 3 and 4 of the first round series with his knee swelling after Game 2. Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report indicated on his podcast on Monday that Leonard may not even be available should the Los Angeles Clippers extend the series to seven games.

“He’s definitely hurt. It’s not load management where he’s taking time off,” Tyrone Lue said about Leonard. “He’s shown in the past that he’s played through injuries in the playoffs. If it’s something he can’t play through, then it has to be pretty serious. We’re not talking about he’s sitting out because of load management or he’s tired. It’s nothing like that. It’s an actual thing.”

Leonard suffered a torn ACL during the 2021 playoffs and sat out the entire 21-22 season.

Kevin Durant defended the reputation of Russell Westbrook following the Phoenix Suns' Game 4 win over the Los Angeles Clippers.

Westbrook scored 37 points for the Clippers as they played without both Kawhi Leonard and Paul George.

"People going to always criticize when you're successful and doing your thing for this long," Durant said of Westbrook. "Russ has been resilient his whole life. He comes to work, doesn't say much. Just come hoop."

Durant said he believes that people will not truly appreciate Westbrook until he is done playing.

"When he retires, people are going to really tell the truth about his game," Durant said. "Right now, the fun thing to do is to make a joke out of Russ. But the way he's been playing since he got with the Clippers is showing everybody who he really is."

Game 3 of the Golden State Warriors win over the Sacramento Kings averaged 4.12 million viewers as the series continues to lead the playoffs in viewership.

The Kings win in Game 2 averaged 4.32 million viewers. 

All three games of the series represent a double-digit increase in viewership over the Warriors-Nuggets last season.

Game 3 of the Suns-Clippers averaged 486,000 viewers on NBA TV, though Game 2 averaged 3.86 million viewers.

The two series account for five of the largest audiences of the postseason thus far. 

Kawhi Leonard has been ruled out by the Los Angeles Clippers for Saturday's Game 4 against the Phoenix Suns with a right knee sprain.

Leonard also missed Game 3 in an unexpected move. Leonard aggravated his right knee sprain in Game 1 but played through it in Game 2. Leonard was not on the injury report for Game 2 or ahead of Game 3 before he was ruled out.

Leonard's injury is considered day-to-day by the team.

With Game 5 scheduled for Tuesday, Leonard would have a week of recovery before seeing if he can play when the series returns to Phoenix.

Kawhi Leonard has been ruled out of Game 3 of the Los Angeles Clippers' first round series against the Phoenix Suns due to a right knee sprain.

Leonard is expected to be day-to-day ahead of Game 4 on Saturday.

The injury isn't related to his previous ACL injury.