Raptors forward Kawhi Leonard is back with the team and receiving treatment in Toronto, but he has not yet been cleared for on-court activity, per Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca (Twitter link).
The Raptors announced Tuesday that Leonard had successfully completely completed his treatment and would begin his return-to-play process. Previous reporting indicated that the 35-year-old was expected to miss multiple weeks of action as a result of swelling in his left knee.
Leonard has been limited to two appearances thus far in his second stint with the Raptors. He last played on October 23.
We have more NBA injury updates:
- Lakers superstar Luka Doncic, who leads the league in scoring at 40.1 points per game, has been ruled out of Sunday’s contest in Detroit due to tightness in his lower back, relays Dave McMenamin of ESPN. It’s the front end of a back-to-back for Los Angeles, McMenamin writes, and Doncic was inactive under similar circumstances when he missed his first game of the season on Oct. 28. The Slovenian guard was originally listed as questionable ahead of Sunday’s game.
- Veteran center Nic Claxton will make his season debut in Sunday’s matinee game against Philadelphia, Bulls head coach Tiago Splitter confirmed to reporters (Twitter link via Joel Lorenzi of The Athletic). Claxton, who has been rehabbing from a hamstring strain, will come off the bench in his first game as a Bull and will be on restriction of approximately 16-to-20 minutes, according to Lorenzi. Norman Powell (right shoulder inflammation/soreness), Zach Collins (respiratory illness) and Dailyn Swain (right disc irritation) are out for Chicago.
- Wizards center Deandre Ayton suffered a lower leg injury on Saturday in the second quarter of Washington’s lopsided loss to Oklahoma City, the team announced (via Twitter). It’s unclear if Ayton, who was ruled out for the remainder of Saturday’s game, will miss additional time as a result of the injury. The Bahamian big man will be an unrestricted free agent next summer.
- Josh Hart missed his second straight game on Saturday due to ankle right ankle soreness and there’s no official timetable for his return, writes Kristian Winfield of The New York Daily News. However, Knicks head coach Mike Brown downplayed the severity of Hart’s injury prior to the win over Cleveland, telling reporters that it was “nothing major” (Twitter link via Fred Katz of The Athletic).
