For the Los Angeles Clippers, what can go wrong will go wrong.
The Phoenix Suns holds a commanding 3-1 first-round lead over the Clippers with Game 5 at its house on Tuesday night. Los Angeles will be without Kawhi Leonard (right knee soreness), who will miss a third consecutive game in this series. Paul George hasn’t played since late in the regular season due to a right knee sprain.
The absence of L.A.’s stars is the biggest reason the NBA’s wealthiest owner, Steve Ballmer, must make the hard decision and blow this roster up. Perhaps he should consider jettisoning Leonard and/or George.
If Los Angeles goes out in the first round, one could argue that a Clippers season ended solely due to injury for three consecutive seasons.
In 2021, Leonard suffered a torn ACL in the second round against the Utah Jazz and the Clippers were eliminated in the conference finals by the Suns. Leonard didn’t play a game the following season, leading to Los Angeles’ elimination in the play-in tournament.
Leonard and George have played in 24 of 36 (66%) playoff games together since they joined the Clippers in 2019. A playoff series can change fast, and just one missed game by a star can shift momentum.
This was evident against Phoenix with Leonard missing Game 3, allowing the Suns to regain home-court advantage. In the Bucks-Heat series, Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo missed Game 3 with a lower back injury and now Miami is up 3-1 over the top seed.
As the saying in sports goes, part of ability is availability.
If a franchise can’t count on its stars to play in nearly every playoff game, it has no shot at winning an NBA championship. Yes, injuries are part of the game, but surviving the injury gauntlet in the NBA playoffs is vital, and the Clippers have proven they are incapable in this area.
Here is a breakdown from Clippers beat writer Tomer Azarly of the games Leonard and George have played together during their first four years in Los Angeles:
