“He’s playing the best basketball that he ever played,” Clippers center Ivica Zubac warns opponents of Kawhi Leonard’s UNLEASHED playoff form
Ivica Zubac feels Kawhi Leonard's career as a Los Angeles Clippers is peaking in 2022/23
Follow Us
Kawhi Leonard
Kawhi Leonard and the Los Angeles Clippers have made the playoffs after an injury-riddled 2021/22, and Ivica Zubac feels Kawhi Leonard’s form is peaking. “He’s playing the best basketball that he ever played. I’m really confident in this team when we got a guy like that on our side,” said Clippers starter Ivica Zubac. Kawhi had a string of 4 consecutive 25+ point games to close out the season, including a 40-point performance against the New Orleans Pelicans.
The Clippers no longer have any minutes restrictions on Kawhi Leonard for the first time in 10 months. Leonard missed the remainder of the 2021 NBA postseason, which included the team’s first appearance in the Western Conference Finals, after suffering a right knee injury in Game 4 of the Clippers’ series against the Utah Jazz in the second round.
Leonard underwent surgery in the offseason and was thus sidelined for the whole 2021–22 season. After dropping both of their games in the play-in tournament, the Clippers were eliminated from the NBA playoffs. The Clippers have secured the #5 seed this season and will take on the Phoenix Suns in the first round of the NBA playoffs.
Playoff-ready Kawhi Leonard will look to beat the Kevin Durant-led Phoenix Suns
The Phoenix Suns beat a Kawhi-less Los Angeles Clippers team in 6 games in 2021 and this is LA’s first playoff appearance since then. Leonard will use his experience as a 2x Finals MVP to get the Clippers over the line against the Kevin Durant led-Phoenix Suns. However, the last time Kawhi won a championship was by beating Kevin Durant in the finals.
Kawhi Leonard averaged 30.5 points on 49% shooting, 9.1 rebounds, and 3.9 assists in the playoffs. Leonard averaged 24.8 points on 51.2% shooting, 6.5 rebounds, and 5.2 assists over the course of his second season with the Clippers (2020–21), all while missing a total of 20 games. Before suffering a season-ending injury in the NBA playoffs of 2021, Leonard averaged 30.4 points on 57.3% shooting, 7.7 rebounds, and 4.4 assists.
Paul George is still doubtful for their game against Phoenix, making Russell Westbrook’s role much more important in supporting Kawhi. Russ will be facing old friend turned for Kevin Durant for the first time in the NBA playoffs which makes for an intense contest. The Los Angeles Clippers take on the Phoenix Suns in Arizona tonight.
In case you missed it:
Do follow us on Google News | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter
Stay Updated!
Anuj Shrikanth Iyer
(290 Articles Published)