Los Angeles Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue raised some eyebrows on Sunday night, as he had Kawhi Leonard on the bench in crunch time against the Los Angeles Lakers. It was a puzzling move, and Lue was asked about that decision after the game.
“He was close to his minutes with restriction and we got a back-to-back tomorrow,” Lue said. “We got five games in eight days, so just me, my thought was, we need him in the game because the game kind of got away from us a little bit. So when (Paul George) came out, bringing Kawhi back in a little earlier than we normally do and he had to play his extended minutes early in the quarter instead of late in the quarter.”
Lue had a call to make when the Clippers were down eight points. Does he save Kawhi for later or see whether he can help them trim that lead down? Well, he went with the latter, and when Leonard finally exited with 2:47 remaining, the Lakers were only up 98-95.
You do wonder if Lue could have just let Kawhi stay in the game at that point. We have seen players go past their minutes restriction numerous times in the past, but he decided to err on the side of caution.
Leonard had missed four games due to a hip injury in late December, and with the Clippers playing five games in eight days, he clearly felt a risk shouldn’t be taken. With the 32-year-old on the bench, the Clippers actually did tie the game, but the Lakers would eventually win 106-103.
Leonard was subbed back in with 17 seconds remaining and assisted what ended up being the final made basket for the Clippers, an Ivica Zubac hook shot. The defeat snapped the Clippers’ five-game winning streak and dropped them to 22-13 on the season.
This also ended up being one of the worst offensive games for the Clippers in a while. They shot just 39.6% from the field, failing to cross the 40.0% mark for the first time since November 8 against the Brooklyn Nets (also 39.6%).
It was one of Leonard’s worst games too, as he finished with 15 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals, and 2 blocks. The five-time All-Star shot just 6-17 from the field and was 2-7 from beyond the arc.
Kawhi Leonard’s Reaction To The Benching
Minutes restriction or not, no player would like to be benched late in a close game and in his postgame press conference, Leonard was asked if he was frustrated by it.
“I mean, I would love to be on the floor and play, but I mean, it is what it is,” Leonard said. “We got more games to play. You know, that’s how it rolled out tonight.”
(starts at 1:10 mark):
Leonard also stated that he didn’t feel fatigued when Lue took him out of the game but understood that he had to come out due to the restriction. Had he been playing well, he might have taken a bit more of an issue with it, but that wasn’t the case.
I don’t expect Leonard to have too many nights like this one the rest of the way, and it wouldn’t be surprising if he dominates against the Phoenix Suns on Monday night.
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