Pops: Kawhi's rehab down to "last steps"

[Nolan]

http://blog.mysanantonio.com/spursnation/2017/12/01/leonards-rehab-down-to-last-steps/

All-Star small forward Kawhi Leonard accompanied the Spurs on their two-game road swing that opens tonight in Memphis. He is on the road to complete what coach Gregg Popovich calls “the last steps” in a months-long rehabilitation from a quadriceps injury.

Leonard has played two sessions of 5-on-5, going both halfcourt and full. At shootaround this morning at the FedEx Forum, Leonard practiced with the full team for the first time, Popovich said.

“Those are the last steps,” Popovich said. “That’s what Tony (Parker) did before he came back.”

Still no real time line but Pops keeps saying sooner rather than later. But if he's practicing with the team and started to play 5 on 5 then he can't be very far away!

[G R E Y]

Tony said that when he was ready, Pop still waited about two weeks before he was convinced Tony was ready. I was hoping Kawhi would come back in time for the upcoming Pistons game, but better not to rush back and risk tweaking anything so as to have Kawhi ready strong and deadly for the season.

[Nolan]

Tony said that when he was ready, Pop still waited about two weeks before he was convinced Tony was ready. I was hoping Kawhi would come back in time for the upcoming Pistons game, but better not to rush back and risk tweaking anything so as to have Kawhi ready strong and deadly for the season.

Agreed. We've been doing alright without him so there really isn't a need a to rush him back.

[-Sammy-]

The team having to play without him has been good for us, and though bringing him back presents obvious wrinkles in terms of adjusting the rotations and everything, I think it's galvanized us (same with Tony being out) and we're going to be a better team for it.

[imagump1313]

Its going to be interesting for sure when he's back on the floor. Since I'm sure he will be eased back in and because our philosophy has changed a little this year offensively we wont be seeing the hero ball as much which will be welcome IMO.

[G R E Y]

Its going to be interesting for sure when he's back on the floor. Since I'm sure he will be eased back in and because our philosophy has changed a little this year offensively we wont be seeing the hero ball as much which will be welcome IMO.

To whatever extent hero ball was a necessity, it will be mitigated by the experience gained by players who've had to fill in for injured stars. Win win.

[Nolan]

Its going to be interesting for sure when he's back on the floor. Since I'm sure he will be eased back in and because our philosophy has changed a little this year offensively we wont be seeing the hero ball as much which will be welcome IMO.

I still don't Kawhi hero ball was ever really the game plan for most of last season. Teams forced us into it because we were one of the few teams in the league with a roster still vulnerable to the Thibs overload. We played two bigs in the paint, had a PG that couldn't stretch the floor and the only real threat we had off the dribble was Kawhi. Pops making the best of roster that didn't quite gel but things are different this year.

With Danny's improved off the dribble game, Pau working more behind the 3 point line, LMA's improvements and the addition of Rudy we now have subtle ways to open things up more.

We'll see how it all plays out when Kawhi returns though, who knows maybe let Kawhi work was actually the plan and hey it wasn't pretty but it worked.

[G R E Y]

Soon... soon:

"I feel good," Leonard said. "Soon [the time is] to come to be able to play on the floor. I'm feeling pretty healthy right now. I think they told you guys that I've been playing five-on-five. So that's where I'm at right now. It's been good. Just still, just gotta go through a few more processes of doing that. I should be back soon."

Sooner... much sooner:

Popovich's standard answer this season when asked about Leonard has been that he will return "sooner rather than later." The coach joked Monday that the "sooner" is "really much sooner now."

Soonest??

Internally, the club discussed bringing Leonard back as soon as Monday, and it's anticipated that the forward might make an appearance during San Antonio's three-game home stand, which began Monday against the Pistons, with matchups with Miami and Boston set for Wednesday and Friday.

http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/21669831/kawhi-leonard-san-antonio-spurs-addresses-media-first-months

[Nolan]

Soon... soon:

"I feel good," Leonard said. "Soon [the time is] to come to be able to play on the floor. I'm feeling pretty healthy right now. I think they told you guys that I've been playing five-on-five. So that's where I'm at right now. It's been good. Just still, just gotta go through a few more processes of doing that. I should be back soon."

Sooner... much sooner:

Popovich's standard answer this season when asked about Leonard has been that he will return "sooner rather than later." The coach joked Monday that the "sooner" is "really much sooner now."

Soonest??

Internally, the club discussed bringing Leonard back as soon as Monday, and it's anticipated that the forward might make an appearance during San Antonio's three-game home stand, which began Monday against the Pistons, with matchups with Miami and Boston set for Wednesday and Friday.

http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/21669831/kawhi-leonard-san-antonio-spurs-addresses-media-first-months

It really seems like he'll be back this week.

[Nolan]

Sounds like Saturday against the Suns is the day ladies and gentlemen.

[Nolan]

And now it's Tuesday against Dallas... sign