Text/Ken
493 days! The Clippers finally waited for Kawhi Leonard to return to the team, and they were still in the warmup game“Five Strikers”Seeing that they could finally win the championship again, they only had two dreams: Leonard was injured again, then came back on November 17 and played only three games and was injured again. Is the motorboat too protective or is Leonard’s argumentative rest?
Why did Kawhi Leonard rest this time?
In reality, the situation was not as dramatic as it was then at the Spurs, it was just a simple injury. First, after the Suns on October 23, the Clippers immediately announced that Leonard would rest again. The initial official reason was that“Checking Right Knee Injuries”(Management of right knee injury), but according to The Athletic reporter Murray law It was also reported that Leonard felt his knee stiffen after the game. Even though he wanted to play, he was still protected by the guarded Clippers team. He took 12 games in one breath until he returned to action against the Pistons on Nov. 17.
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Leonard only played 3 games this time, due to thelast minute gameaccidentally stepped on teammate Amir Coffey after taking off and landing and twisted his foot. Although the interview after the game pointed out that it was fine, but according to the coach The autopsy of Ty LueLeonard felt a little sore the next day, and once again the Clippers placed him on the Day To Day disabled list under caution, and he didn’t return to the team until today against the Kings.
(News as of 12/3: Kawhi Leonard attended team practice and his status was changed to Questionable. Ty Lue confirmed he will participate in the next trip with the team, and it’s the last mile before returning to the team )
Indeed, since the surgery was completed in the summer of 2021, the Clippers have not dared to be careless with Leonard. Even though there have been many rumors that recovery progress is ahead of schedule and he is expected to return to the team at the start of the 2021-22 season, Leonard even joked before the season that if he really was entered the championship game last season , maybe he would play, but the Clippers are always worried about the “return time”. “He remained silent, and continued the previous strategy of” load management “, paying attention to any minor problems of Leonard, unwilling to take risks.
Leonard’s injury was a partially torn ACL (cruciate knee ligament), no small operation. When he returned to the team for a second time on November 17, while not explaining why he missed 12 games, he also stressed that the rest was due to the ball decision made by the group,and explain“This season has been a long journey. A lot of people think ACL recovery is one year, but it’s two years. I understand that, so I’m going to continue to move forward and complete this process.
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The speedboat is really scary
Let’s say you travel back to the summer of 2019 and you’re the team leader of the Clippers. You have the power to decide whether to sign Leonard and implement the Paul George transaction. Looking at the rich injury history of the two, will you retire? Because of this?
How heartbreaking is it for a key player to get injured in the playoffs? Clippers owner Steve Ballmer must have sympathy. Before, in the 2014-15 season, Chris Paul missed two games due to a thigh strain. The following year, he was injured along with Blake Griffin. In the 2016-17 playoffs, Griffin was replaced by Griffin. He played just three games and was paid back for the season It appears to be an inevitable curse in Clippers history, and it will continue through the 2021 season.
Leonard was never a healthy Ironman player. Since the injury in 2017-18, the maximum number of appearances in a single season is just 60 games. George is also not a strong player. He has also suffered major injuries and the average number of games played in the three seasons between 2019 and 2022 is only 44.3 games, and the number of games played in the first two years of joining the Clippers is even lower than Leonard’s .
Still, it’s undeniable that the playoffs are undoubtedly a battleground for stellar competition — as long as the two can play healthily, it will be full of reverie. Leonard holds two FMVPs and led the Toronto Raptors to their first championship in team history in one year. For three consecutive seasons from 2018 to 2021, the average playing time in the playoffs exceeded 39 minutes and the average scoring in two seasons has passed the 30 mark. It’s rare in the league to have a star who can have tremendous influence on both ends of the offense and defense. And while George has been ridiculed for calling himself “Playoffs P” for his paint-off performance, he’ll prove himself once again in the 2021 playoffs as he averages 40 minutes per game, shooting 26.9 points, 5.4 assists and 9.6 rebounds. lead in the Western Conference championship game.
At least at this moment, the Clippers still believe that Leonard and George are enough to bring the league’s Gold Cup combination back to life, but how to ensure health after serious injuries and play 100% in the playoffs? “Load management” (rotation) is undoubtedly the only way. Even between winning the championship with the Tyrannosaurus in 2019 and getting injured in the 2021 playoffs, Leonard didn’t suffer serious injuries: the Tyrannosaurus and the Clippers both chose to resort to “load management”. The strategy worked too, aside from Leonard’s unfortunate injury.
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Prudence has a price
The Clippers will re-sign a 4-year, 176 million yuan contract extension with the newly injured Leonard in 2021, plus the 4-year 190 million yuan signed by Paul George the previous year, and spend the entire 2021- 22 waiting and strengthening the depth bench, the Clippers have built a lineup with excellent depth that can last 2-3 years. Compared to the pressure before the 2020-21 season, the Clippers have demonstrated the possibility of this lineup, and have also tied up core players on long-term contracts, so they can take a break and extend the “Champion Contender” title. .
However, there is a price to pay for protecting the stars! Although the Clippers have had a strong opening season schedule this season, they have only 13 wins and 11 losses. They have delivered many embarrassing matches. Without the double stars, they failed to maintain the team’s offensive firepower. Previous small ball formation completely failed After a quarter, the number of games Leonard and George have played together can be counted on the fingers of one hand, not to mention the addition of former setter John Wall this season, the training progress is worrying.
Load management will also prevent the Clippers from having a great season. Last season was a bloody lesson. They failed to make the top six in the Western Conference and were forced into the playoffs of life and death. The Clippers lost to the Timberwolves and the Pelicans on a two-game losing streak. , It also increases the difficulty of the road to win the championship in the future.
Compared to the team’s first year of formation in 2019, the Clippers have wasted many opportunities, including Reggie Jackson, Nicolas Batum and Marcus Morris, who are gradually going downhill, and it is difficult to ensure that Leonard and George have the ultimate fighting power . The window will only get smaller every year. However, until this combination is dropped, a cautious protection policy is the Clippers’ only way to keep up hope. Otherwise, the season could be halted before the playoffs are reached.
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