Clippers' Kawhi Leonard makes season debut vs. Hawks

LA Clippers star Kawhi Leonardwas in the starting lineup for his season debut Saturday night against the Atlanta Hawks at the Intuit Dome

Coach Tyronn Lue said Leonard is on a minutes restriction, but did not say how much playing time the six-time All-Star forward would get.

"This is like his preseason and training camp because he hasn't had that. Everybody who's playing tonight had a training camp and they played 30-35 games," Lue said. "We're going to make sure we bring him back slowly. It's a great step in the right direction tonight, but we've got to make sure we're doing it the right way."

Leonard has been sidelined all season because of inflammation in his right knee, and he and the Clippers have been extremely cautious with the injury. Last season, he sat out the final eight regular-season games and Game 1 of the Clippers' first-round series against the Dallas Mavericks. He returned to play in Games 2 and 3 but did not look like himself after contributing nine points and nine rebounds in Game 3 on April 26.

Leonard was then shut down for the rest of the series, admitting that the inflammation was still troublesome. He hasn't played in a game since.

Leonard was able to participate in USA Basketball's training camp in July before USA Basketball opted to replace him with Boston Celtics point guard Derrick White. Leonard did not practice with the Clippers throughout training camp and the preseason, taking an extra-cautious approach in hopes of helping the inflammation in his knee subside and trying to ensure it wouldn't return.

The Clippers have had surprising success this season without Leonard, going 19-15, second in the Pacific Division. Veteran forward Powellhas stepped up for LA, leading the team with 23.6 points per game after averaging 13.9 last season.

Leonard, 33, played 68 games last season, averaging 23.7 points, 6.1 rebounds and 3.6 assists.

ESPN's Ohm Youngmisuk and The Associated Press contributed to this report.br/]