Yr after yr, the Los Angeles Clippers fail within the playoffs, and Stephen A. Smith is finished giving them consideration.
Since signing famous person level guard Chris Paul again in 2011, the Los Angeles Clippers have been one of many flashiest groups within the NBA. From their ‘Lob Metropolis’ days with Paul, Blake Griffin, and DeAndre Jordan to the famous person duo of Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, the Clippers have had excessive expectations for the final decade and extra, however they’ve by no means as soon as made the Finals.
This season, they presently maintain the eighth seed, however with James Harden, Kawhi Leonard, Norman Powell, Ivica Zubac, and Kris Dunn all enjoying stable basketball, LA has the veteran expertise to go on a run.
There’s a perception that, for the primary time in a number of years, the Clippers entered the season with low expectations and this might be the yr they lastly break by, however their monitor report suggests in any other case.
Stephen A. Smith, identified for his inflammatory takes and feedback, is just not anticipating a lot from the Clippers and he’s seen sufficient to know when to keep away from hope.
After lacking the primary 35 video games of the season, Kawhi Leonard made his long-awaited season debut in January. Since then, he has averaged 19.6 factors, 3.5 rebounds, and a pair of.9 assists on environment friendly capturing numbers.
With two Finals MVPs and some of the dominant particular person playoff runs of all time in 2019, Leonard is named somebody who kicks into a brand new gear within the postseason, however that 2019 run is six years previous at this level, and newer outings recommend he can’t be counted on.
“The rationale I’m not bought on the Clippers is as a result of I’m simply taking a look at my watch and I’m simply wanting on the dates within the calendar and I’m simply ready for Kawhi Leonard to get harm,” mentioned Stephen A. Smith on ESPN.
“That’s all I do know that it’s come playoff time. He’s not gonna be obtainable. I’m not letting this go. This can be a man that went right into a playoff sequence in opposition to the Phoenix Suns, dropped 38, and walked off the court docket wanting completely high quality. After which 4 o’clock the subsequent day, he’s out for the yr. What occurred? I imply, that is the factor: when Paul George obtained injured, we see what the harm. What occurred?”
Smith does have some extent. Often, when a participant suffers a career-altering harm, it occurs on the court docket and followers can see the devastation. With Leonard, a lot of his medical historical past has been behind closed doorways and stays mysterious.
“I can’t get excited concerning the Clippers,” Smith completed. “I’m simply allergic to pleasure with something that entails Kawhi Leonard.”
If followers focus solely on the excessive factors of his profession, locking up LeBron James within the 2014 Finals and main the Toronto Raptors in 2019 to their first Finals actually are the highlights, though Leonard has had his justifiable share of shortcomings.
In every of his final two All-NBA seasons, he missed the ultimate video games of the Clippers’ playoff runs. Like clockwork, as Smith mentioned, Leonard will get harm and is shut down for the remainder of the postseason.
Heading right into a first-round sequence in opposition to the Oklahoma Metropolis Thunder, Houston Rockets, or Denver Nuggets, Leonard might very properly be essentially the most harmful participant on the court docket, though he has performed in solely 65% of the potential playoff video games since 2019, which doesn’t encourage quite a lot of religion.
On high of that, James Harden isn’t precisely identified for being his similar elite self within the postseason. If Leonard performs, the Clippers have the prospect to be deadly, however at this level followers have to see it earlier than they consider it.
