Clippers fans let out a collective groan Tuesday night after hearing that Kawhi Leonard is injured once again. He left the arena after suffering back problems that limited him to just 12 minutes in a loss to the Wolves.
Clippers coach Ty Lue later revealed that Leonard has been dealing with spam on his back for the past few days. He seemed to aggravate the injury against the Wolves.
It’s unclear how long Leonard’s injury will last, but it has the potential to completely reshape the Western Conference and derail the Clippers’ season.
Kawhi Leonard has been playing at an All-NBA level
Leonard has had a fantastic season, missing only six games before Tuesday’s injury. That number should increase.
This year he has looked like the ultimate Kawhi. He has once again wreaked havoc on defense, using his giant hands to snatch the ball away from players and get into passing lanes. And he’s had one of his best seasons shooting the ball, hitting 42.6 percent of his 3-point attempts and posting a career-high 58.5 effective field goal percentage.
Leonard has been one of the top 10 players in the league this year. The Clippers were briefly in first place in the first week of February thanks to his play. Without him, they have been a completely different team.
The Clippers have had problems without Kawhi Leonard
With Leonard only playing the first quarter against the Wolves, the Clippers were defeated by 18 points. That shouldn’t be a surprise: They’ve gone 3-3 and been outscored by 38 points in games they missed.
The Clippers have been bad all season when Kawhi is sitting. By basketball referenceThey outscore their opponents by 8.8 points per 100 possessions when he’s on the court, and are outscored by 3.1 points per 100 possessions when he’s sitting.
All-in-one metrics paint Leonard as a top-10 most valuable player this year.
| Metric | Worth | Range |
|---|---|---|
| EPM | +5.7 | 7th |
| DARKO | +5.6 | 4th |
| LEBRON | +3.6 | eleven |
| ABDUCTOR | +7.4 | 4th |
Paul George will have to increase his scoring, but he is going through his own injury problems. He has been dealing with meniscus irritation in his left knee all season.
The Clippers also miss Russell Westbrook, who will likely be out for the remainder of the regular season following hand surgery.
Kawhi Leonard’s effect on the Western Conference standings
The Clippers are in a tight battle with the Pelicans for the No. 4 seed in the Western Conference. They have a two-game lead coming into Wednesday and will meet on Friday.
Home advantage will be crucial in that 4/5 matchup. The Pelicans already have a 2-1 lead in the series. They have played extremely well against the Clippers over the past few seasons, winning 11 of their last 14, including a victory in the 2022 Play-In Tournament that ended Los Angeles’ postseason hopes.
The Pelicans have quietly been one of the hottest teams in the league, winning their last four games. While they receive little to no national recognition, they have been a top 10 team on both sides of the ball. eighth in attack and sixth in defense. They are a very deep team that hasn’t been very healthy this year but has still managed to put together a stellar 39-25 record.
This also takes the Clippers out of what is now a very tight three-way race for first place in the West between the Thunder, Nuggets and Wolves. Only half a game separates those three. Los Angeles had been in that mix for most of the year. Now he hopes to hold on to fourth place.
