Kawhi Leonard: Vision still blurry

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Sunday, November 9, 2014

San Antonio Spurs forward Kawhi Leonard, who battled conjunctivitis during the preseason, says his vision still hasn't returned to normal.

"My right eye, the vision's not all the way back yet," Leonard told the San Antonio Express News. "Hopefully I can heal up soon. I've just got to keep competing so I can get used to it and get my rhythm going."

Leonard, last season's Finals MVP, is playing through the condition.

"I have to. That's what I'm doing now," he told the paper. "I can't wait and sit on the sidelines anymore just wasting games. It might not ever clear up until summer, so I'm playing now."

Doctors told Leonard the ailment just has to run its course.

"[Team eye specialist Dr. Ed Rashid] said there were some military guys who had it for weeks and some for months," Leonard said, according to the paper.

Leonard collected 14 points and 14 rebounds for his first double-double of the season on Saturday but missed a pair of shots in the closing seconds in the 100-99 loss to theNew Orleans Pelicans. After sitting out the Spurs' opener with his eye infection, he shotonly 7 for 26 in his first three games. He made 5 of his 13 shots in Saturday's loss.

Meanwhile, Spurs center Tiago Splitter will see a back specialist about a nerve problem. Splitter is also dealing with a calf strain, which doctors believe could be related to disk inflammation that was discovered in an MRI.

"They found a little inflammation in a disc," Splitter told the Express News before the game Saturday. "Nothing like a hernia or anything like that. It's not a sciatic problem. But it's something that gives me more tension in the nerve of the calf and gives me these problems. We don't know if it is a problem in the calf or the back. It's complicated.

"We're going to see a back specialist and see what he says about it and see what he suggests to do."

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