Kawhi Leonard: 3 LA Clippers need to have a big Game 5 without the Claw
By Evan Desai
The LA Clippers will once again be without Kawhi Leonard for Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals tonight.
The Clippers are down 3-1 in the series heading into the contest, and will be short of their best player for a seventh straight game.
Kawhi’s leg injury is going to force three Clippers in particular to step up and pick their injured teammate up before he hopefully has the chance to get back in for Game 6.
No. 1 LA Clipper who needs to have a big Game 5 with Kawhi Leonard out: Marcus Morris Sr.
Marcus Morris Sr. will need to step up big-time for the LA Clippers with Kawhi Leonard out of the picture.
Morris has struggled so far in the Western Conference Finals. The truth is, it appears he’s not been 100% healthy, even when he’s healthy enough to get on the court. Morris has been battling knee soreness in this series, so it’s not unfair to expect him to be playing in limited minutes during Game 5.
What needs to happen for Morris, however, is that he needs to be efficient in those minutes that he’s in the game.
In the only game that the Clippers won in this series, Game 3, Morris was efficient. He may have only taken four shots, but he hit two of them, both being three-pointers. He also hit both his free throws.
In all other games, he’s shot a combined 8 for 30, and he’s only made one of ten threes. Game 3 proved that Morris can be a key contributor to a win even in few minutes (23), as long as he’s being efficient in scoring the basketball.
He had a couple of blocks last game. It’s not like he can’t find ways to be productive in just the 21 to 24 minutes that he’s played. He needs to win the ‘tough guy battle’ between he and Jae Crowder when he’s on the floor.