Kawhi Leonard' s return shows microcosm of sacrifice the Clippers will need to quell doubt this season HEAD TOPICS
Kawhi Leonard' s return shows microcosm of sacrifice the Clippers will need to quell doubt this season
10/21/2022 10:38:00 AM Kawhi Leonard' s return shows microcosm of sacrifice the Clippers will need to quell doubt this season
Source WOKV News
Kawhi Leonard's return shows microcosm of sacrifice the Clippers will need to quell doubt this season LOS ANGELES — It almost felt like a pump fake, believing Kawhi Leonard would actually make a scheduled appearance in a real NBA game after missing an entire season recovering from an ACL injury. His defensive awareness was still pinpoint, and when the Los Angeles Lakers made multiple emotional runs, it was Leonard who clinically and patiently dotted LeBron James’ eye with a wing jumper to play closer one more time.Stephen Curry reclaimed his spot and the Lakers — well, they replaced ill-fitting pieces around James with younger, more ill-fitting pieces. “I did this before, when I started my career,” Leonard said. “That’s how I approached it mentally, like I was in foul trouble. Once I check in, it’s time to play.”None of this will be easy, and because it's the Clippers, a fair amount of doubt and derision will accompany any winning streak until they advance through multiple rounds of the playoffs. Short of the Golden State Warriors, every good team in the West has flaws that can spell doom to go along with spellbinding and tantalizing moments — Read more:
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Read more >> The Stakes Are High for the ClippersIf the Clippers don’t make the NBA Finals, was the Kawhi-PG experiment a dud? 🤔 RohanNadkarni, HowardBeck, SIChrisMannix, and Herring_NBA debate RohanNadkarni HowardBeck SIChrisMannix Herring_NBA Yes RohanNadkarni HowardBeck SIChrisMannix Herring_NBA Yes RohanNadkarni HowardBeck SIChrisMannix Herring_NBA Waymo plans to launch driverless taxi service in Los AngelesWaymo says it will begin driving autonomously in several Los Angeles neighborhoods in the coming months ahead of a wider launch. elonmusk partner with Goog for AI software Andrew Tate Calling GME & AMC Apes Genius 'I'd Lose $6 Million to Destroy Wall Street Hedge Funds' DarkPoolAbuse NakedShorts WallStreetCrime Los Angeles City Councilmember Kevin de León refuses to resign after racist remarksLos Angeles City Councilmember Kevin de León told CBS Los Angeles on Wednesday that he has no plans to resign after a leaked audio recording captured him and three others making racist comments in October 2021. We will se if he can keep his seat. Angelians won't break Democrats get away with racist shit all the time. Why should he resign? He knows there's no consequence for Dems whey they are racist and many are. Los Angeles City Council meets virtually again as protests continue outside de León's homeL.A. City Council met virtually again as it continues to grapple with the fallout from the City Hall racism scandal, and as protesters continue to demand the resignations of Kevin de León and Gil Cedillo. Ffs. The dude is donzo. DeLeonStrong 12,000 suspected fentanyl pills stuffed inside candy boxes seized at Los Angeles International AirportThe bags of candy and 'miscellaneous snacks,' which included wrappers for Skittles, Whoppers and Sweetarts, were filled with pills believed to be fentanyl. Happy Halloween kids! Not... Welcome to Biden's America 'It is not a happy time in Los Angeles'TV news veterans explain how one of the most explosive stories in L.A. political history is changing the way they cover city government. America needs to know. Japan has yet to apologize for its very poor looting during the 40 years of Japanese colonial rule, which killed hundreds of thousands of Koreans in Korea and looted their minds through psychological warfare. Explain why Japan should be your friend. Hahah somehow Trump is to blame…the LA times has become a partisan rag. Give us a follow for news on spying & terrorism. We tweet daily. BFBT_ PeopleWatching And even though he patiently waited until the game was in a full lather — some 18 minutes in — he exploded onto the floor and gave everyone ample reason to believe the Los Angeles Clippers can finally fulfill their championship promise.John Wall —will either one of those guys distinguish himself during the season? But I like (Ivica) Zubac in the middle.Waymo is targeting Los Angeles as its next location to launch a driverless taxi service.Martinez and Herrera have since resigned. Leonard rarely looks excited and with the load management reputation he’s garnered, “joy” wouldn’t be among the adjectives used to describe getting back on the floor. But he played with bounce and purpose, and with a plan. They've got just one of the deeper rosters in the NBA. It didn’t matter he was the Clippers’ 11th man Thursday, because those 21 minutes showed plenty.13% GOOG, -1. He got to his midrange spots, hitting his first two jumpers on his way to scoring 14 points and grabbing seven rebounds. No question about it. His defensive awareness was still pinpoint, and when the Los Angeles Lakers made multiple emotional runs, it was Leonard who clinically and patiently dotted LeBron James’ eye with a wing jumper to play closer one more time." De León claimed to have apologized"profusely" to Bonin and his family in a voicemail, and said he has not spoken to Martinez, Herrera, or Cedillo since the audio leaked. So much has happened from the last time Leonard played, in the 2021 Western Conference semifinals against the Utah Jazz where he was playing arguably the most efficient ball of his career. This is the first year of this entire group being back, being healthy, being together.” in the future. Luka Doncic took a step into superstardom. Giannis Antetokounmpo — a man Leonard shut down in the 2019 East finals — became a made man and shut down all the talk of not being worthy of legendary status. Howard Beck: I wanna take the macro view here and just say this: If the Clippers flame out in the postseason this year, flame out again, Paul George and Kawhi Leonard go their separate ways, whatever—never having made a dent, never having gotten further than that conference finals run that they made in 2020—this is all still a rousing, spectacular, unqualified success. Stephen Curry reclaimed his spot and the Lakers — well, they replaced ill-fitting pieces around James with younger, more ill-fitting pieces. With generally flatter terrain, wider streets and more consistent weather, Los Angeles may prove to be an easier testing ground than San Francisco, where Waymo’s distinctive Jaguar I-Pace vehicles with sensors on the roof have roamed for years learning the streets — with occasional difficulties. So not everything turned on its head. Because up until 2019 the Clippers had never signed anybody." Community members confront with police officers during a protest to condemn the racist comments made in a 2021 at the City Hall Tuesday October 18, 2022 in Los Angeles. But the league doesn’t stop moving, and Leonard is now a sneaky 31 years old. While it’s easy — and humorous — to call him “half-terminator/half-a-season,” the Clippers must take the long-game approach and it won’t be for vanity reasons. And they signed two of the most coveted, most talented free agents in the league at the same time, or traded for one and signed the other. “When we think about our next cities, Los Angeles jumps out,” Waymo’s co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana said in a blog post Wednesday. Leonard was said to study players who had similar injuries and how they recovered, their approaches and setbacks — thus deciding that coming off the bench and playing in three long spurts would be the best way to debut. “I did this before, when I started my career,” Leonard said. Blake Griffin, who got drafted. “That’s how I approached it mentally, like I was in foul trouble. is a remarkable, vibrant place – and Waymo’s experience leaves us best positioned to tackle its driving complexity. Los Angeles. Once I check in, it’s time to play. No one considered them a destination.” Leonard said he didn’t want to sit 35 straight minutes of real time, which would’ve been the case had he started the game. It’s not just a rejection of ego but a dedication to the small details, one that doesn’t always pay off. And George and Leonard both wanting to be there—two guys who had been tied repeatedly to the Lakers, as guys who wanted to go back to Southern California and play for the glamor franchise—chose together the Clippers, who will now, by the way, have their own arena—something they've never, ever had in LA—in 2024.” Waymo did not offer a detailed timeline for its Los Angeles operations. “I thought he looked good, I thought he got tired in stretches,” Clippers coach Ty Lue said. “I thought he had good pop to start the game after sitting for so long. These guys could never win anything. ” None of this will be easy, and because it's the Clippers, a fair amount of doubt and derision will accompany any winning streak until they advance through multiple rounds of the playoffs.5 billion in funding since 2020, according to Crunchbase data. Short of the Golden State Warriors, every good team in the West has flaws that can spell doom to go along with spellbinding and tantalizing moments — causing rational people to believe the Warriors can be unseated atop their perch . So we can say competitive failure, fine. If Leonard isn't healthy, everything falls apart. The roster built by the Clippers' front office was deep enough to have honest conversations with John Wall in free agency without the need to blow smoke his way, while also feeling like the point guard spot needed further fortifying . They're now a destination. Depth, assuming talented players keep their feelings in check, keeps a team performing like a sane outfit through the rigors of 82 games. But stars carry you when the winter turns to spring, and Leonard’s playoff resume has shown a history of consistent elevation — which is why the Clippers will do everything in their power to keep him as close to optimal strength before the postseason begins. They're not squandering all of the wealth of being an LA team anymore. It makes the job more difficult for Lue, who's a wizard on the sideline and sitting from here, no doubt the league's best . Developing continuity with minute restrictions and players missing expected action makes a job in coaching the league's deepest team even more difficult. Gary A. On a given night, he can close a game with a myriad combination — provided Leonard and Paul George are written in ink. “When guys are playing good and guys are rolling, until we figure out the rotations and minutes and who we want to give them to, it’s gonna be a process to figure it all out,” Lue said. That is insane! I don't know what the Kawhi-Paul George acquisitions did for the Clippers cache. “I’ve gotta figure it out as well.” When asked if that’s the toughest part of his job, he laughed, “It is. The Lakers stink and they're still by far and away the media darlings of Los Angeles. Yeah. Yeah. I know what you're saying.” “It’s tough, we have to continue to do it all year,” Lue said. “With the minute restrictions and guys being in and out. But come on, man. It’s hard to manage, it’s hard to play that way as well. We gotta take what we can get. They will have gotten, what, four or five years out of Paul George and Kawhi Leonard, paid them both like $200 million apiece and won nothing? All for what? Positive PR? Are you kidding me? Nadkarni: I don't know how I always find myself aligning with Mannix on these podcasts, but I could not agree more with Chris here.” A season-opening win over the Lakers isn't so much noteworthy now, as Lue hasn't lost to them since taking over two years ago. And not every team will have ghastly guard play to aid in Leonard and Wall slow-walking this process, as Russell Westbrook, Patrick Beverley and Kendrick Nunn combined to shoot 1 for 25. These guys were putting up billboards all across the city saying, “Earned not given,” positioning themselves against the Lakers as this model franchise that built the team the right way. One can imagine Thursday will be somewhat a microcosm of this entire season. At times, the Clippers looked worlds better than the Lakers, toying with them and threatening to take 20-point leads multiple times. They have also dealt with injury issues. Then, there were moments of lapses that leave you shaking your head. It’s not arrogance or disrespect to opponents, but spurts of boneheaded plays you don’t see champions making. Yes, that is an important caveat. In theory, Leonard being around 35 minutes a night — perhaps for 60 games — can quell those extreme moments a bit. But Leonard was around when the Clippers blew that 3-1 lead to Denver in the Orlando bubble in 2020, so not even he is immune to being sucked right into whatever bad juju has surrounded this franchise for eons. You put those guys together to win a championship at the very least. Making sacrifices and seizing opportunity will be a theme for the Clippers this season. There is a such thing as too much talent, particularly if it isn’t harnessed properly and consistently — and especially if the dependable headliner can’t be relied upon to close the show before the lights come back on. The Nets are like their saving grace right now, or probably the reason we're not bagging on the Clippers even more. Your browser does not support HTML5 audio. Listen . They've done things for the Clippers franchise that are important, but at the end of the day, they gotta win.