A new season of sports
Leonard, whose attendance is quite good this season, still can't stand it after all, and he is sure to miss the game against the Warriors.
According to reporters, Leonard was not rested in rotation, but was really injured and suffered a left adductor strain.
Soon the Clippers reporter reported that Leonard is not just about taking a break from one game, and will even be out of this year's All-Star Weekend!
Prior to this injury, Leonard had only been on the bench for four games this season. So far this season, he has averaged 24 per game1 point 62 rebounds and 37 assists 17 steals, three-point shooting percentages. 1%, just a little lower in free throws, otherwise it would be in the 180 club. Under Leonard, the Clippers currently sit third in the West with a 35-17 record. Because of this, Leonard appeared in the MVP discussion for a long time, and Leonard ranked fifth in ESPN's mock voting on MVP. However, after this injury, if Leonard's absence is too long, it may make the final number of games of the season not meet the NBA's requirement of 65 games, and then pass by the MVP again.
But we all know that Leonard has never been very interested in regular season awards, so he certainly won't force an injury for some reason, like Embiid, for the regular season MVP, and then suffer more serious problems. It is reported that Leonard was injured in the third quarter of the Clippers' 100-121 loss to the Timberwolves recently, and it is likely that he will miss at least a week. In that game, Leonard scored only 18 points in the whole game, which made the Clippers unable to hold the home court and gave the Timberwolves the last laugh. Facing the Timberwolves, the Clippers' interior shortcomings were exposed. Gobert and Towns combined for 41 points, 14 rebounds and five blocks, while Zubac and Plumlee on the bench combined for eight points and 14 rebounds.
However, before the trade deadline this year, the Clippers did not make any moves, and could only watch as other teams strengthened. There is no way, the chips in hand are really not enough. This means that even if the Clippers' internal problems are visible to the naked eye, they have no choice but to fight like this. The center that many fans missed some time ago, Capela, who is also Harden's former teammate, is unlikely to come now. Capela won't be wearing a Clippers jersey until at least the end of the season. What's worse is that there are no center players in the buyout market at this stage, and even if there are later, how sure are the Clippers that they can take him?
Therefore, to put it mildly, the ability shown by the Clippers at this stage is indeed a championship team, but it is by no means the favorite to win the championship this season. Harden, Wei Shao, Leonard, and George have shown good ability, and after the run-in is completed, they do have good ability, otherwise it would be impossible to rush from the play-off position at the beginning of the season to the top of the West.
But the intractable interior problems will definitely be targeted in the playoffs. If you play against teams with strong interior lines such as the Timberwolves, Nuggets, and Lakers, Leonard, George and other team cores can only be continuously consumed.
Do you think there is any hope for the Clippers to break out of the West this year?