Dylan Hernández: Despite Game 2 loss, Clippers clearly need Kawhi Leonard
Published in Basketball
LOS ANGELES — Their offense looked disjointed.
Doesn't matter.
The Clippers had to play Kawhi Leonard.
Their first-round playoff series is now level at one game apiece, as the Dallas Mavericks stole a 96-93 victory at Crypto.com Arena on Tuesday night.
Doesn't matter.
The Clippers had to play Kawhi Leonard.
Because the Clippers aren't looking to just win this series. They're looking to win a championship, and they're not doing that without their best player, who hadn't played in more than three weeks because of a swollen right knee.
Whether it was on Tuesday night, or in the upcoming two games in Dallas, or sometime beyond that, Leonard was going to have to be reintegrated into the team.
This was never going to be a simple process.
To facilitate the return of the version of Leonard who scores 30 points a game, the Clippers will have to endure a period in which they have the version of Leonard who was limited to 15 points and missed all five of his 3-point attempts in their Game 2 defeat. They will have to build him back up while continuing to win games, well aware that the first objective could compromise the second.
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