Clippers look to Leonard to raise game in teammate’s absence

Kawhi Leonard’s role as the focal point of the Los Angeles Clippers’ offense has never been in question. But now with teammate Paul George’s absence, the time has come for him to play like the MVP he has been in two NBA Finals. Indeed, with George out indefinitely with bone edema – a condition that has no set timetable for recovery – the scoring load has fallen squarely on Leonard’s shoulders. And as of early February he had responded only mildly. In three games without his running mate, Leonard averaged 26 points, 8 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 1 steal per game with just 1.7 turnovers. That’s not far off his seasonto-date averages of 26 points, 5.8 boards, 5.1 assists and 1.8 turnovers. It’s also worth noting that the Clips lost two of those games – to the Boston Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers, both teams with unimpressive records – which dropped them out of first place in the Pacific Division behind the Los Angeles Lakers and into the third seed in the Western Conference. It goes without saying, then, that if the Clips are to survive this period of unknown duration without their No. 2 scoring option, they’ll need their No. 1 to step up and take control as he did for the San Antonio Spurs in 2014 and the Toronto Raptors in 2019 – both championship teams. Leonard and the Clippers can be seen in action Tuesday, March 2, when they pay a visit to the Celtics in a game airing on TNT.