In order to not disappear this series, Kawhi Leonard just needs to…continue to be Kawhi Leonard.
Kawhi Leonard is easily a top five player in this league. With that comes great responsibility.
Like many Clippers in the West Semis last year, Kawhi shrank a little bit when it came to shooting the rock in some losses.
In the Game 2 loss, Kawhi shot just 4 of 17. He had a +/- of -16.
In the Game 7 loss, he shot just 6 of 22, and didn’t make it to the free throw line at all to help straighten out his stroke. His +/- was a rough -21.
That simply can’t happen again for the Clippers at all in this series. Kawhi Leonard just needs to be himself.
He knows what he’s capable of. The Mavericks are afraid of Leonard, and for good reason.
He’s been dominant in the postseason before, and there’s also another reason for optimism here.
Even in that Game 2 loss where he didn’t perform up to par, he still stole the basketball three times, and almost had a triple-double that game.
It goes to show that even if Kawhi’s off as a shooter, he can come through in many different ways.
If Kawhi’s stroke doesn’t disappear, however, it’s going to be a miserable series for Dallas.
It’s going to be a miserable series for Dallas, as long as these three Clips don’t disappear and rise to the occasion.