The evening of play-offs scheduled for Saturday will be amputated by two stars. Kawhi Leonard (Los Angeles Clippers) and Joel Embiid (Philadelphia), injured in the right knee, will not be on the court according to journalists Adrian Wojnarowski (ESPN) and Shams Charania (The Athletic). A huge blow for the Clippers. Leonard had been sparkling in Game 1 (38 points), won in Phoenix, during which he injured his knee.
The double NBA champion winger in 2014 and 2019 had played in game 2, lost to the Suns, before missing the third game, also lost (124-129). The Californians could find themselves led 3-1 by Phoenix in the event of another defeat in their room on Saturday (9:30 p.m.). Paul George, also injured in the knee, has been absent since March 21, leaving Russell Westbrook and Norman Powell (80 points accumulated in Game 3) in charge.
The situation is quite different for Philadelphia. Very close to qualifying for the second round, the Sixers will do without Joel Embiid for their game 4 against Brooklyn (Saturday, 7 p.m.). The Cameroonian pivot, favorite for the title of MVP, has averaged 20 points and 11.3 rebounds since the start of the play-offs. However, he comes out of a difficult meeting (14 points to 5 out of 13). Paul Reed could replace him in the starting five.
2023-04-22 07:42:05
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