What we learned from the LA Clippers’ preseason home opener

Kawhi Leonard excellent in his debut

Kawhi Leonard made his long-awaited LA Clippers debut Thursday night, and in more ways than one, it was everything we had hoped it would be.

The sample size was small — Leonard played just under 11 minutes in his first (and potentially last) bit of preseason action — but he couldn’t have looked better.

From the first play of the night, Leonard’s impact was felt. The Clippers won the tip, Landry Shamet fed Leonard the ball, who in turn found JaMychal Green on the wing for a wide-open three-pointer that was a no-doubter from the moment it left his hands.

A few possessions later, Leonard drained a midrange jumper from the corner — his first points in a Clippers uniform. 14 seconds would pass before Leonard would put another number on the stat sheet, this time a steal. He drove the ball down the court, surveyed the floor and pulled up from deep, draining his first three-point attempt.

Within the first two minutes of the game, Leonard was already responsible for all but one of the Clippers’ points.

He took a seat roughly four minutes into the game, already having recorded five points, two assists, a rebound and a steal. Some thought that would be the end of his night, and had it been, we’d still be impressed by what he was able to achieve.

To much surprise, Leonard came back in a little more than halfway into the first quarter. From then on, he took on more of a playmaking role.

Four of Leonard’s six total assists came in those next six minutes, three of which were scored by Ivica Zubac.

Leonard exited the game for good roughly two minutes into the second quarter, finishing his first game with seven points, six assists, a rebound and a steal.

Just about everything went his way tonight. Sure, a few of his shots didn’t fall, but no one is going to cut him for looking a little rustier than usual. It was his first time on the floor since his former Toronto Raptors downed the Golden State Warriors in six games in June, and it came just a few days after he began participating in full-contact drills in training camp. Obviously, he’ll only get better from here on out.

It wouldn’t be surprising if this ends up being the last we see of Leonard in the preseason. There’s almost no reason to play him in either of LA’s remaining two matchups and if his health status is at all in question, it would be wise for the Clippers to let him rest until they make their regular season debut on October 22.

But man, would we love to see more of him before then. He just made everything look easy.

Leonard was in complete control in the few minutes he was on the floor. Once he gets out there with the rest of the Clippers’ starters in a meaningful game, opponents are going to have a very difficult time keeping him from doing whatever he wants with the ball.