Heading into Friday’s action, the San Antonio Spurs are in third place in the Western Conference and hold a 35-24 record.

Head coach Gregg Popovich has led his club to yet another productive season and All-Star power forward LaMarcus Aldridge has stepped up in a big way to resemble the go-to scorer that he was as a Portland Trail Blazer at the beginning of his career. Home cooking has also treated the Spurs well, as they have gone 22-6 in San Antonio.

Most of this has occurred without superstar forward Kawhi Leonard, who has been dealing with a serious and confusing quad injury all season. After finishing third in MVP voting last season, Leonard has appeared in just nine minute-restricted contests this season, averaging 16.2 points, 4.7 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 2.0 steals in 23.3 minutes.

Since the Spurs have also been forced to deal with injuries to Rudy Gay and Tony Parker this season, younger players like Kyle Anderson and Dejounte Murray have been thrust into prominent roles and have, for the most part, produced. But, Leonard’s absence has created an obvious void. Due to his ability to impact the game at both ends of the court — as a dominant on-ball defender and efficient offensive star — he’s perhaps the best two-way player in the entire NBA.

Michael Jordan labeled him as such last summer.

On Wednesday, Popovich said that he’d be “surprised” if Leonard returned to the floor this season.

"We only have X number of games left in the season, and he's still not ready to go," Popovich admitted. "If by some chance he is, it's gonna be pretty late into the season, and it's going to be a pretty tough decision -- how late to bring somebody back. So that's why I'm just trying to be honest and logical. I'll be surprised if he gets back this year.”

Various reports have suggested that Leonard and the Spurs have a fractured relationship based on how his injury has been handled.

On Thursday, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported that Leonard has been cleared to return, but has declined to do so, thus adding a dramatic wrinkle to the ongoing saga.

“After spending 10 days before the All-Star break in New York consulting with a specialist to gather a second opinion on his right quad injury, All-NBA forward Kawhi Leonard bears the burden of determining when he's prepared to play again, sources told ESPN,” Wojnarowski wrote.

He added, “Leonard has been medically cleared to return from the right quad tendinopathy injury, but since shutting down a nine-game return to the San Antonio Spurs that ended Jan. 13, he has elected against returning to the active roster, sources said. If Leonard returns, it will be because he has decided he can manage the discomfort of the injury, according to the sources.”

Therefore, the ball’s in Leonard’s court, so to speak.

He has simply decided to stay away from the team.

Although it doesn’t seem like any team will be able to stack up against the Houston Rockets or Golden State Warriors, the Spurs absolutely need Leonard on the floor to have a shot. While both the Warriors and Rockets have been dominant, the NBA is a star-driven league where anything can happen in an instant. San Antonio found that out the hard way last season when Leonard got injured in the fist game of the Western Conference Finals against the Warriors which led to them getting swept without much of a fight.

Therefore, if a star on either the Warriors or Rockets sustains some kind of injury, the Spurs could have a real opportunity to strike. As with any Popovich-coached team, there’s absolutely no reason to count them out. That’s the result of winning 50-plus games for 19 seasons in a row with five championships in that span.

Let’s take a look at how Leonard could give his team a chance against the best of the West.

Leonard vs Harden

Harden and the Rockets found out about Leonard’s shutdown defensive skills the hard way in the playoffs last season. Due to Leonard’s incredible defensive versatility, he was able to limit Harden better than anyone else could.

Harden posted 33.2 points, 6.4 rebounds and 7.0 assists per game against the defense of Andre Roberson, regarded as one of the best perimeter defenders in the NBA, in a five-game series victory against the Oklahoma City Thunder in the previous round. But then, against Leonard’s defense, he posted 24.5 points, 4.7 rebounds and 9.7 assists per game in a six-game series loss to the Spurs.

Leonard forced Harden to distribute the ball more, as he took 2.9 fewer shots per game than in the series against the Thunder and also shot just 41.4 percent overall, including 30.8 percent from three-point range. Shockingly, Harden went 3-for-17 for just 13 points in Game 2, which was no coincidence based on his incredible offensive abilities. Leonard completely shut him down in that contest. Although the Rockets now have Chris Paul as well, the team clicks best when Harden is rolling. Therefore, if Leonard is able to slow him down, that'd be a huge benefit for San Antonio.

Leonard vs. Durant

In 12 regular-season games against each other in their careers, both Leonard and Durant have gone 6-6. In the playoffs, Durant’s teams have had the edge, going 11-8 against Leonard’s Spurs.

Although Durant’s scoring numbers will persist no matter who attempts to guard him, Leonard has been successful in preventing one aspect of KD’s game: the three-point shot. In their 12 regular-season meetings, Durant has shot just 29.5 percent from deep against Leonard and in their 19 playoff matchups, the reigning Finals MVP has managed to shoot just 32.3 percent.

Limiting Durant is a tall task, but when Golden State catches fire from three-point range, they’re essentially unbeatable. The Spurs might not have a way to limit Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson or Draymond Green in a seven-game series, but with Leonard on the floor, Durant might not pose the 40-point upside that he has every other night he steps on the floor.

In conclusion

Despite the fact that Leonard has an NBA title under his belt already, he has a chance to make a positive impact and sweep all of the drama under the rug. Since he’s under contract through the end of next season, he may very well wind up somewhere else in the summer of 2019, but while he’s in San Antonio, he owes it to himself, his teammates and the organization to make a return if he’s medically cleared.

Since he has done his due diligence and has received another medical opinion, Leonard is in control of the situation and can choose what path to go down.

After Tim Duncan retired and Spurs legends Parker and Manu Ginobili are at the tail-end of their careers, Leonard was expected to become the next face of the franchise. A lot of hard work and dedication has gone into transforming his game since his rookie season and he has an opportunity to re-define his perception not only at the moment, but when it comes to his overall legacy, which could take a massive hit if he decides to sit out the rest of the season.