The Los Angeles Clippers will attempt to extend their first-round playoff series against the Phoenix Suns Tuesday evening without star forward Kawhi Leonard.
The two-time NBA Finals MVP suffered a sprained right knee in Los Angeles’ series-opening win back on April 16. While he played the next game, Leonard has missed each of the past two outings (all losses) and has already been ruled out for Game 5.
With the Clips now on the brink of yet another premature playoff exit, some have tossed criticism in Leonard’s direction due to his unavailability in the postseason during his time in Southern California. Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue is having none of it:
“He’s definitely hurt. Like this is not load management where he’s taking time off. He’s shown in his past that he’s played through injuries in the playoffs,” Lue on Leonard’s injury.
“If it’s something that he can’t play through, then it has to be pretty serious. We’re not talking about he’s sitting out because of load management or he’s tired or nothing like that. It’s an actual thing. What the outside is saying, who cares.”
To be fair, Lue is right in that Leonard has played through injuries in the postseason throughout his stellar career. However, it’s been all about availability. Leonard has missed 10 of the Clippers’ past 12 playoff games dating back to the 2021 NBA Playoffs.
With Paul George also sidelined this time around, it has given Los Angeles no real chance to take out the likes of Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and the Phoenix Suns. Lue’s comments also come amid criticism from the media regarding Leonard’s injury history.
“Kawhi Leonard should be on the list of one of the worst superstars this game has ever seen,” ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith said on First Take last week.
Smith would later issue an apology after hearing of some serious personal stuff Leonard has been dealing with, saying “I said some things last week about Kawhi Leonard as a superstar. I meant every word of it. Having said all that, I said it unaware of some of the personal things his family has gotten into.”
This comes after Leonard’s sister, Kimesha Williams, was convicted of murdering an elderly woman and sentenced to life in prison.
Without Kawhi Leonard, Los Angeles Clippers in brink of elimination
On the court, Los Angeles heads into Game 5 in Phoenix down 3-1 in this first-round series. The team finds itself as 12.5-point underdogs as it looks to send this back to Southern California for Game 6.
While Russell Westbrook (26.0 PPG, 7.5 RPG, 7.3 APG) has done his thing, it has not been enough to overcome the losses of both Leonard and Paul George.
These two were brought to the Clippers ahead of the 2019-20 season to bring a championship to Los Angeles. A loss in Round 1 would paint a pretty bleak picture for the Clippers. That would include just one Western Conference Finals appearance in four seasons.
It also includes both George and Leonard dealing with several injuries since coming to the Clippers as a packaged deal.
At some point, the status quo is not working and things have to change. Perhaps the Clippers will be at that point once the summer comes calling. But criticizing Kawhi Leonard over injuries is not it.