What a bizarre series this has been for the LA Clippers. After splitting two nail-biters in Denver, the Clips steamrolled the Nuggets at Intuit Dome in Game 3 before the last-second Aaron Gordon game-winner buried them in Game 4 to even the series 2-2. Now, after a Jamal Murray masterclass in the Mile High City last time out, everything is on the line.
This is it. The penultimate moment in this Clippers season. We've been waiting for Kawhi Leonard to be healthy in a do-or-die moment for years, and now he finally is. No more excuses. It's time to put up, or shut up.
There's no sugarcoating it: Leonard has to be at his absolute best for the Clippers to come back from down 3-2 and win this series. LA has no choice but to lean on their best player, and there's no room for him to be passive at any point.
What the Clippers need is for Kawhi to enter the mental frame he was in back during his legendary Game 7 performance he put up against the Philadelphia 76ers while playing with the Toronto Raptors back in May 2019.
In that game, Leonard emptied the clip in a way we have rarely seen him do at any other time in his career. Kawhi finished the game with 41 points on 39 (!!) shot attempts, by far the most FGA he has recorded in any game of his career, regular season or postseason.
Lue has to limit Dunn's minutes to create more opportunities for Leonard
When you're Kawhi and you're in this position, you have to understand a few things. Firstly, that you are the best player on your team, and your squad is going to largely go as you go. Secondly, that efficiency should go out the window, no questions asked.
No one is looking at efficiency stats in a situation like this, or at least they shouldn't be. Winning is all that matters in the playoffs. Leonard needs to be willing to put up at least 25 to 30 shots in Game 6, even if he's missing a lot of them and his performance isn't aesthetically pleasing.
This was the mentality that guys like Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant had in their heyday. If it's an elimination game, I know what I have to do. I'm going to go down swinging, and if we lose, it won't be because I held anything back, even for a second.
One way that Ty Lue may want to empower Kawhi to feel more comfortable doing this would be to think about limiting Kris Dunn's minutes. Though his defense is game-changing, Dunn's status as a non-shooter can muck up the Clippers' offense and make on-ball creating more difficult than need be for Leonard.
With that said, Kawhi has to lean into being somewhat selfish with the basketball on Thursday more than he would in any other situation. If he's still who we think he is, Leonard has the ability to change the outcome of this game and series single-handedly if he locks in and puts up a high-volume shooting night.
Clippers fans have been pulling the "if we just had a healthy Kawhi" card for half a decade, and now that formerly hypothetical scenario has become reality. No more gimmicks, no more watching James Harden go 3-for-9, no more moral victories. It's time for Leonard to show us all what he's made of. It's LA's only hope of advancing.