“Kawhi Leonard owes us him vs LeBron James, anything less is unacceptable”: Stephen A Smith puts Clippers superstar on blast after underwhelming start to this year

Stephen A. Smith goes off on Kawhi Leonard and the Los Angeles Clippers, calling them the same old disappointing Clippers. 

The Los Angeles Clippers have been at the cusp of being legit title contenders for nearly a decade now. Whether it was with the Chris Paul and Blake Griffin iteration of the team, or the Kawhi Leonard and Paul George version, the Clippers seemingly always have a team that looks raring to go come Playoff time. 

However, in typical Clipper fashion, fall short before reaching the Conference Finals, let alone the NBA Finals. Thought to have been assembling a championship caliber team, Steve Balmer put all of his chips into getting Paul George and Kawhi Leonard in the summer of 2019. 

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Fast-forward a year later and that same Clips team blew a 3-1 lead to the Denver Nuggets in the WCSF. With another shot at their first ever title in franchise history, Stephen A. Smith lobbies for their franchise superstar to gear up for this year’s postseason. 

Stephen A. Smith rips on Kawhi Leonard for disappointing performances as a Clipper in the Playoffs. 

To be fair, Kawhi Leonard was perhaps the sole reason as to why the Clippers had even made it as far as a Game 7 in their series against Denver.

However, when it mattered, Kawhi posted it up merely 14 points on an abysmal, 6-22 shooting night. Stephen A. Smith reminisces about this performance and calls for Leonard to lead the Clippers further in the postseason. 

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“It’s time for Kawhi Leonard to have a lot bunch of attention pushed in his direction. It’s time for him to step up. A lot was promised because of him.”

“A new era for the Clippers because of him but so far, he’s been disappointing. That’s not a new era, that’s the same old Clippers. He owes us him vs LeBron James in the postseason, anything else is unacceptable.” 

Both the Clippers and the Lakers have been struggling a bit as of late. The Lakers however, have an excuse in Anthony Davis’s absence. The Clippers however, haven’t looked like the powerhouse they were deemed to be.