Things are going from bad to worse for the Los Angeles Clippers and Kawhi Leonard, who cannot seem to catch a break.
Following his absence in Game 3 of their first-round series against the Phoenix Suns with a right knee sprain, Leonard has now been ruled out for Game 4 as well.
“Clippers list Kawhi Leonard (knee) as out for Game 4 vs. Suns.”
Clippers list Kawhi Leonard (knee) as out for Game 4 vs. Suns.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) April 22, 2023
Leonard had hurt his knee in Game 1 itself but played through the injury in Game 2. It is easy to be critical of Kawhi for again missing time, but it seems clear that he desperately wants to play. His body just keeps failing him and it is really sad to see, especially when he was playing at such a high level.
Kawhi was averaging 34.5 PPG, 6.5 RPG, 6.0 APG, and 2.0 SPG in the first two games of this series and teammate Russell Westbrook stated he was playing like the best player in the world. The Clippers weren’t really given much of a chance in this series with Paul George being out, but Leonard’s play had them in a position to pull off the upset. The team fought valiantly in the absence of their two stars in Game 3 but fell short in the end and you can see a similar scenario panning out in Game 4. This was shaping up to be such a great series and it is a pity that things have panned out in this manner.
Stephen A. Smith Has Been Highly Critical Of Kawhi Leonard
While there has been a lot of sympathy for Leonard, Stephen A. Smith has been very critical of him. Smith stated that Kawhi is one of the worst superstars in NBA history because of how unreliable he is. He then later went on to say that Leonard should just retire at this point because of the ridiculous amount of games that he has missed since joining the Clippers.
While Kawhi certainly won’t retire, you have to wonder at this point whether he’ll be able to lead a team to a title moving forward. The Clippers had been extremely cautious with him during the regular season in the hope that it would lead to him being healthy for the playoffs, but his body has already broken down. It is a real shame and one can only hope that this latest injury isn’t a serious one.
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