I can’t imagine how good Kawhi Leonard must feel right now. Mostly because I can’t imagine the depths of the physical pain he has had to endure to get to this point.
At the time of this writing, the Los Angeles Clippers are up 2-1 on the Denver Nuggets and look poised to advance to face the Oklahoma City Thunder in the second round. There is a better than decent chance that the Clippers might be the best team in the NBA right now and we’re all slowly realizing exactly how special this squad might be.
It didn’t seem possible as recently as a couple months ago.
This team devoted all its resources to the acquisition of Kawhi Leonard in 2019. It was absolutely the right decision. Leonard had just led the Toronto Raptors to an unlikely NBA title and was without question the best two-way player in basketball. He had seemingly fully recovered from the injuries that shaded the sad end of his run in San Antonio, and he had reached the mountaintop.
We all know what happened over the last five years.
Leonard unfairly became the symbol for “planned rest” and “load management” as he navigated a series of unfortunate lower-body injuries. Leonard, who is famously tight-lipped about anything/everything, had no interest in explaining himself or his physical maintenance to the media, which allowed for the raging loudmouths to incorrectly assume that he “didn’t want it bad enough” or whatever tired nonsense they spouted to fill airwaves that day.
Teammates – both former and current – each praised Leonard’s work ethic and dedication to returning to the court. The Clippers had no choice but to hope that Leonard’s body began cooperating, because they frankly had no other options.
The Clippers’ front office inadvertently built Oklahoma City’s burgeoning stretch of dominance when it shipped everything at their disposal in exchange for Paul George (at Leonard’s team’s request). The Leonard/George pairing never got healthy at the same time and seemed destined to be one of the NBA’s saddest “what if?” stories. When the Clippers elected to let George walk away to Philadelphia for nothing in return, that appeared to be the disappointing end of a disappointing era.
But a funny thing happened while everyone was focused on Leonard’s health: The Clippers built a darn good roster.
There is a reason why Kawhi Leonard appears fresher, leaner, and bouncier than ever. He doesn’t have to shoulder the entire burden of responsibility. Look at his counterpart in this series, Nikola Jokic. He continues to play at a Hall-of-Fame level on offense (defense is another story) and he wears himself out as the rest of this roster simply isn’t up to the challenge.
The Clippers, meanwhile, are running two strategies at once. There is the James Harden squad, which features a lethal pick-and-roll combination with Ivica Zubac and slashers/shooters/defenders all over the floor (Norm Powell, Kris Dunn, Nic Batum, Derrick Jones Jr., even Ben Simmons). Then there is the Kawhi Leonard squad, which is when Kawhi breaks the other team’s heart with an incredible one-on-one move for a backbreaking late-in-the-shot-clock bucket.
Game 2 was nothing short of miraculous. There’s Kawhi, hitting 15 of 19 shots, many of them over perfect Aaron Gordon defense. There’s Kawhi, methodically spinning and backing his way exactly to his spot. There’s Kawhi, no concern whatsoever about the hand directly in his face. There’s Kawhi, with the ball traveling no higher than 11 feet in the air before splashing into the net without so much as grazing the rim.
There’s Kawhi – the best player on the planet.
I wanted to wait until after Game 3 to write this, because I wanted to see how Kawhi looked after one of the best games a person can play. It’s one thing to perform at that level once, but playoff basketball is a marathon. Can his body hold up, not just in this series, but even deeper into this run?
He wasn’t the miracle worker he was in Game 2, but the Clippers didn’t need him to be. The Nuggets are cooked. They have no answers for the Harden version of the Clippers, let alone the Kawhi version. Kawhi can simply pick his spots and dial it up if/when needed.
No team has this luxury. Typically, a player of Leonard’s incredible talent is relied upon to do everything – offense, defense, shot creation, emotional leadership. It’s draining. If Leonard can remain fresh and healthy for the remainder of this postseason, the Clippers have one of the best players in the history of basketball (yes, it’s true) ready to deploy in “break glass in case of emergency” situations.
Kawhi has to feel so good.
And 1’s:
• This version of the Memphis Grizzlies is over, right? After Ja Morant left with what appeared to be an extremely painful hip injury and the Grizz up by nearly 30 in their “avoid getting swept” effort, the Oklahoma City Thunder turned on the defensive turbo jets and simply squeezed the life out of that squad. It was the closest thing we’ll ever get to watching a boa constrictor play basketball. On the flip side, a win like that – when it would’ve been so easy for OKC to pack it in and settle for a “gentleman’s sweep” – tells me this Thunder squad is serious. That OKC/Clips series might end up being the de facto NBA Finals.
• Evan Mobley wins Defensive Player of the Year – a deserving winner and a fine all-around player. Great rebounder, incredible versatility. But do you think Alex Caruso and Lu Dort caught wind of that announcement and took it a little personally? I think Memphis thinks so.
• How much longer do you think the NBA gives out this Clutch Player of the Year award? I give it two more years.
