After an 8 game absence, Kawhi Leonard again took the floor on Monday against the Charlotte Hornets and did exactly enough to avoid a third straight loss for his team.
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Ty Lue’s men went down to wire with the 7-16 Hornets who were without the injured LaMelo Ball and needed a clutch jumper from The Klaw and he took it when he was 19 feet out from the basket with 2 seconds remaining in the game.
Leonard sure made it and took his team across the line with a 119-117 win. What he said after the game was also as good as his shot.
Nobody loves the game of basketball more than Kawhi Leonard
The number of games he has played since coming down to LA will not show it, but Leonard claims to have more love for the game than anyone else. In the post-game interviews in Charlotte, he elaborated that feeling quite better than he usually does.
You have got to feel that after hitting a game-winner like the good old days. But having his franchise invested so much in him and the team around him for the past 3-years, he will have to be available consistently and win games for them.
Currently, they stand sixth in the West with 14 wins in 25 games played. It wouldn’t take much time for any of the seven teams below them to catch up with each loss they suffer from now on.
Although Leonard’s absence doesn’t back up his love
Kawhi Leonard has got to pull his socks up and take care of his availability. Otherwise, it would be too late, and they would not even make it to the Playoffs like last season.
In the 251 games since he joined the Clippers, Kawhi has just played 115, which is 21 games less than the games he has missed (136).
When he takes the court, you can see how much he loves the game because he is seldom rusty despite all the absences. But the man has got to prove his love for the game with his presence.
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