As the LA Clippers make adjustments early in the season, there is a lot of high-level talent to account for. Paul George already spoke about how the team recognizes the need to sacrifice for one another given the fact the Clippers have multiple potential All-NBA level players.
But counter to this theory, there is also the need to recognize who the best player on the roster is at times throughout the course of any given game. Of course, that player would be Kawhi Leonard. This is not to say George is wrong, but simply that two things can be true at once.
Head Coach Tyronn Lue recently emphasized this when talking about which player needs to sacrifice his shot attempts the least on the team. “I mean, he’s the best player, so yeah,” said Lue, speaking of Kawhi.
Tyronn Lue thinks Kawhi Leonard should be sacrificing the least
In the Clippers’ game against the Knicks earlier this week, Lue made it a point at halftime to insist that the ball needed to be in Kawhi’s hands more often than it had been in the first half. Following this, Kawhi got off nine shot attempts in just the third quarter, after attempting only six in the entire first half.
While the Clippers ultimately lost the game, Leonard finished with a team-high 18 points. Lue referenced Paul George’s earlier comments in his postgame thoughts.
“I mean, everybody has to sacrifice,” said Lue. “But I thought just in a matchup with Kawhi, we can attack that a little more … Just getting him into a rhythm will help us out offensively, and it did.”
Even with James Harden now in the mix, bringing more of a focus back to the Clippers’ best player could be part of the solution to LA’s offensive woes going forward. Striking a calculated balance between keeping everyone involved and making sure Kawhi Leonard is still running the show seems like the best strategy possible.