The Kawhi Leonard era for the Los Angeles Clippers promised so much but for now, it has only led to disappointment. The team, for one reason or another, has failed to put it all together in the postseason, but it’s not all their fault. The collapse in the 2020 playoffs when they blew a 3-1 lead to the Denver Nuggets in the semifinals was entirely on them, but they seemed poised to finally breakthrough in 2021, only for Leonard to go down with an injury in the semifinals against the Utah Jazz.
The Clippers put in a terrific effort to get past Utah, but the Conference Finals was as far as they would go without their talisman as they were eliminated by the Phoenix Suns. With Leonard out of action for the 2021-22 season as well, the Clippers understandably took a step back, but they were still in the hunt for a spot in the postseason, before ultimately losing in the play-in tournament.
Kawhi Leonard Laughs And Says He Would Have Made A Comeback If The Clippers Made It To The NBA Finals
There was a point towards the end of the regular season, however, when there were some rumors that Kawhi might be able to play in the playoffs if the Clippers made it in. They didn’t in the end so we weren’t able to find out for sure, but Kawhi was asked about it during media day.
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“I mean, it’s all woulda, coulda, shoulda right now. But yeah, if they would’ve made it to the Finals last year, you would’ve seen me playing.”
We doubt the Clippers would have made it that far without him, but if he would have been able to come back a bit earlier, then they would have been a real headache to deal with. We’ll never know how differently things might have panned out, but all that is in the past now as the Clippers look for a change in their fortunes moving forward.
They have given Kawhi all the time he needs to recover so that he stays healthy next season, and he stated during this media session that he feels stronger after going over a year without playing basketball. He was already playing at a ridiculously high level when we last saw him, as he was averaging 30.4 points on 57.3% shooting in the 2021 playoffs, and if he can sustain that kind of performance or play even better than that, then the Clippers will be extremely tough to beat.
