Clippers: 1 player helped, 2 players hurt by Kawhi Leonard’s injury
By Evan Desai
![Kawhi Leonard, LA Clippers. Mandatory Credit: Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports Kawhi Leonard, LA Clippers. Mandatory Credit: Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape/cover/sport/9a6793efa1216d45686f6c44d48cbf1b94019a95f56ba90ecf31cef05e38762a.jpg)
No. 2 player for the LA Clippers hurt by Kawhi Leonard’s injury: Paul George
No LA Clipper has had more asked of them with Kawhi Leonard sidelined than Paul George.
Don’t believe me? Check out these numbers:
Paul George has been a man on a mission 😤 pic.twitter.com/Qq0fNs8JrS
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) June 30, 2021
George has carried this team, and he’s been doing it while playing the most minutes out of anybody in these playoffs.
He also has to deal with constant scrutiny whenever he slips up, such as in Game 2 when he was ridiculed for his free throw shooting, and in Game 4 when he was ridiculed for having a cold shot.
The truth is, PG wouldn’t be put in these situations if Leonard was back.
George wouldn’t be in so many high-pressure situations all the time and therefore would be in a better headspace to make these late-game free throws that people rip him for missing, and he wouldn’t be under as great of a magnifying glass all the time.
No Kawhi is going to change mostly everything around this roster. However, George is directly impacted because he is now being demanded of much greater responsibility.
Next. 3 players who need to step up with no Claw, Zu. dark
And as for Morris, he can’t even nurse his injury properly. The injury opens up opportunities for some, like Beverley, but there’s no doubt that the Clippers would be rather heavy favorites for this game if he was good to go.