Kawhi Leonard and the Los Angeles Clippers just lost a game where ‘The Klaw’ dropped 40 and Russell Westbrook put up 24 points and 9 assists with just one turnover.
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The 122-114 loss came against the Pesky Pelicans who had Brandon Ingram’s 36 points, 8 assists, and Jonas Valanciunas’ 23 points, and 12 rebounds night to fend off the visitors.
What’s inspiring about the win for the New Orleans team was that the win didn’t come just in the absence of Zion Williamson, but also without their defensive genius, Jose Alvarado.
With their second win on the LA team within the same week, the Pelicans have made the race to the Top-6 in the West, wide open. And obviously, Clipper Nation is not too happy about it.
What does the Pelicans’ win over Kawhi Leonard and Co mean for the West?
Excitement. With most of the teams having 3–4 games remaining in the regular season, the Western Conference has the Golden State Warriors at #5 who just have a 3-game differential with the 10th-placed Oklahoma City Thunder.
The Clippers have a 1.5-game differential with the Minnesota Timberwolves while the Lakers (1) and Pelicans (0.5) sit between the two. Now, the Clippers just have 3 games remaining, but Pels have four and the Lakers have five.
The Clippers have to play the Suns and the Lakers in two of those. What an upcoming week the NBA fans have in their hands. The same cannot be said for the Clipper Nation, though, who are scared to be in the Play-ins.
NBA Twitter questions Kawhi’s leadership skills
Kawhi has been in the form of his life since his permanent return to the Clippers’ line-up this season. However, he has failed to get his team enough wins in that span, which is now resulting in their struggle to keep themselves in the top-6.
And NBA Twitter is on to him for it. “Kawhi [Leonard] isn’t him,” one user wrote, while others also questioned the 5x All-Star.
That’s a little harsh for a 2x Finals MVP, isn’t it? Let him reach the Playoffs, hopefully with a healthy Clippers team, and he will show us how to lead. The man led the Raptors to a championship, against a Warriors team, just four years back.
