Kawhi Leonard and the Los Angeles Clippers have a hard task to complete tonight when the Clippers take on the Denver Nuggets for the seventh and last game of their West semis series. The Clippers lost a 3-1 advantage over the Nuggets and now all eyes are on them and their upcoming matchup.
Everybody wants to give his opinion on what this game means for the Clips and some say it could change how Kawhi is perceived around the league.
According to ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith, this game could change Kawhi’s legacy, stating that the forward is under a lot of pressure, probably the most he’s been in his successful career. During Tuesday’s edition of ‘First Take,’ Smith explained:
“As far as I’m concerned, this is a legacy game for him. Not if he wins but if he loses, this would be very very bad for Kawhi Leonard. He had 25 and 8 and 5 the last game but he was a relatively modest eight of 18 from the field, he had key turnovers, he missed shots he normally makes, he made mistakes he normally wouldn’t in this Game 6. With Denver being down 3-1 and playing the way that they played, coming back to tie this series 3-3 — I don’t know if Kawhi Leonard has ever been under more pressure than he is tonight. He better show up because if he doesn’t, the basketball world is going to look at him significantly differently than we looked at him in the past. I’m not talking about win or lose. I’m talking about he has to show up, he has to play his lights out because the kind of pressure he is on tonight is the kind of pressure we have put LeBron James on throughout his career. This is the first time I recall Kawhi Leonard being in this situation where all eyes are on him,” Smith said.
Kawhi is under a lot of pressure. The Clippers gave a lot to bring him and bring Paul George and a second-round exit will be a complete failure for them. The Californians need to win this game, Kawhi needs to win this game so they can go play against the dangerous Lakers and define the champion of the Western Conference.
This Game 7 will be the perfect end to a series with a lot of emotions and fans can’t wait to see what Kawhi is going to do to lead his team to the next round of the postseason.
