Report: Kawhi battling sore knee originally caused by quad issue

Toronto Raptors forward Kawhi Leonard has reportedly been playing through a sore knee since the conference finals, and the ailment was caused by overcompensating for his right quad issue, sources told The Athletic's Sam Amick and Joe Vardon.

The quad injury - the same one that limited him to nine games with the San Antonio Spurs last season - is "fine" now, according to Vardon, but it's the left knee that's been a problem during recent games.

Leonard's been observed grimacing occasionally, going back to Toronto's last series against the Milwaukee Bucks. His discomfort was apparent immediately following a dunk in the second overtime of Game 3, though he was tightlipped about it postgame.

Shortly after the Raptors eliminated the Bucks in six games, Leonard's uncle Dennis Robertson told Yahoo Sports' Chris Haynes that the forward was dealing with a leg injury, but Robertson didn't divulge specifics.

The next day, TSN's Josh Lewenberg reported that Raptors guard Danny Green had said Leonard was dealing with a knee issue - the first time anyone on the team identified the star's knee as the problem. Just prior to Game 1 of The Finals against the Golden State Warriors, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski said on the broadcast that Leonard was battling tendinitis in his knee.

Leonard is averaging 28.5 points, 11 rebounds, and four assists through two Finals games. After playing 39 minutes in Sunday's loss, he will have two full days of rest before Game 3 goes Wednesday at Oracle Arena.