Kawhi Leonard’s presence could give the LA Clippers an edge over San Antonio
The LA Clippers fell to the Utah Jazz Wednesday night without Kawhi Leonard. Anticipated to play tonight, he could give LA the edge over San Antonio.
The LA Clippers suffered their second loss of the season Wednesday night to the Utah Jazz by a final score of 110-96. The Clippers were competitive in the first half but ultimately couldn’t survive an 18-point barrage from Mike Conley in the third quarter, who got hot at the worst time possible.
Fortunately, the Jazz may not be an issue for the Clippers in the long haul. Save for one bad quarter of play, LA was competitive against one of the Western Conference’s best teams — and they did so without the help of Kawhi Leonard or Paul George.
Leonard had his first load management game of the season against the Jazz, and it seems fair to say that the Clippers had a good shot at winning this one had he played. But the star forward is as healthy as he’s ever been right now, and LA is keen on keeping him that way so not to spoil a potential run to the NBA Finals.
George is still working on returning to the floor, but he’s getting closer and closer as each day passes. A return date of November 13 has been floated, but we won’t know for sure when George will make his Clippers debut until it’s made official by the team.
The Clippers fell to 3-2 with the loss, and they’ll look to get back on track tonight against the San Antonio Spurs to begin a five-game homestand.
Unlike Wednesday’s contest, Leonard is expected to play tonight against his former team. There’s still a chance he sits, but all signs are pointing to the two-way star suiting back up against the unbeaten Spurs.
Through his first four games, Leonard has played like an MVP candidate. The 28-year-old is averaging 27.0 points, 6.5 rebounds and 7.5 assists per game on 51.9 percent shooting from the floor. He also boasts an absurd Player Efficiency Rating of 36.9 and has been one of the best playmakers in the league. Nobody has been able to stop him from doing whatever he pleases on the floor.
The Clippers will likely need him, too. San Antonio has been a force thus far, and is one of only two remaining undefeated teams in the league.
They lead a balanced scoring attack — the Spurs have five players that average double-digit scoring per game, and DeMar DeRozan and LaMarcus Aldridge each average 20+.
San Antonio also has a budding young point guard in Dejounte Murray that’s worth keeping an eye on. He didn’t play last season due to injury but has averaged 14.7 points, 8.0 rebounds and 6.0 assists in 23.0 minutes per game this season.
If there’s one area where the Spurs are weak, it’s from behind the three-point line. Except for Bryn Forbes and Patty Mills, no player takes more than 3.5 shots from three-point range per game.
That means LA’s defense in the paint and midrange is going to be key to earning a win tonight, which puts a lot of responsibility in the hands of Leonard, Patrick Patterson (assuming he gets the start) and Ivica Zubac.
Leonard is one of the best defensive players in the league, so that shouldn’t be too much to ask from him. He can guard virtually every player at any position, and the Clippers will likely have him take on the most difficult assignments tonight.
Patterson has been a solid three-and-D guy for the Clippers this season, and Zubac has made obvious improvements over the summer on both ends of the floor.
Next. What we learned from the LA Clippers' loss in Utah. dark
Leonard will be the LA Clippers’ most important player tonight, so his performance will be key to taking down the San Antonio Spurs. The teams will tip-off tonight at 7:30 p.m. PDT.