The Los Angeles Clippers have taken a long and arduous road to get there. After enduring a 6-21 start to the season, they have finally clawed their way back to .500 by beating the New York Knicks on Monday night. After the Warriors lost to the hapless Utah Jazz, the Clippers are now tied for eighth in the West with Golden State. More importantly, L.A. holds all the momentum.
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However, catching the Suns, the next team up in the standings, will be a tall order. Phoenix is currently five games up on L.A., and each team has just 18 games left to play.
Still, pushing past the Warriors and keeping the Blazers (1.5 back) at Bay would ensure that the Clips would have two chances at making the playoffs, if need be. And they could avoid a matchup with the 1-seed if they win their first play-in game.
Kawhi Leonard has been the catalyst behind the Clippers’ resurgence. But in fitting with his personality, he hasn’t rallied his team back from the dead with fiery speeches or inspirational words. As always, Leonard has just been calm, cool, and collected, while averaging 27.9 points per game this season. He hasn’t had fewer than 23 in a game since January, in fact.
Leonard’s lack of enthusiasm in expressing his feelings, emotions, or energy can be one of the most comical things in the NBA. And he proved it again Monday night when asked what it meant to get back to .500.
“It’s cool,” deadpanned Leonard. “But the job ain’t done, the season not over, so I mean it’s what’s expected. Like I told the fellas, we don’t train to lose, we train to win.”
That last line is actually a bit of a banger. Of course, Leonard’s low monotone makes it hit differently. Leonard had more, though. “Like I said, [the] job is not done, we still got games to play, so there’s nothing to be happy about,” he said.
Leonard is the one true heir to that guy in the meme who, when told a smile would be good in his Facebook profile picture, replied, “Nothing to smile about in my life.” You can only admire the steadfastness with which Kawhi sticks to this part.
It’s easy to picture Leonard at a birthday party just staring at his cake and gifts with apathy. Or him having an introspective moment on a roller coaster as everyone else screams and throws their arms in the air.
Regardless of how he goes about doing it, there’s no arguing with Kawhi’s output on the court. He was already on a roll before the team traded James Harden away. And since the Beard left, Leonard has become even more locked in and more consistent.
Most 32-32 teams don’t worry the top teams in the league. But you can bet that the OKC Thunder and the San Antonio Spurs are keeping their eyes on the Clippers. They’ve been playing much better than their record or seeding suggests for months now. And with Leonard sternly leading the way, they’re going to pose problems for anyone they face in April.
