Leonard saved the team from a losing streak.
The Los Angeles Clippers won 113-101 in the 2022-2023 NBA regular season against the Dallas Mavericks held at the Los Angeles Crypto.com Arena on the 12th (hereinafter Korean time) and escaped from a six-game losing streak.
On this day, Kawhi Leonard was at the forefront of escaping the losing streak. Leonard, who led the team’s attack alone without Paul George, who was sidelined due to hamstring pain, played a significant role in the offense and defense with 33 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals, including 3 3-pointers, in a considerable playing time of 35 minutes and 55 seconds. His 33 points was the most points scored in a game since his return. 안전놀이터
In particular, the shooting condition shown in the attacking situation was excellent. Leonard, who scored stably without covering the inside and outside, recorded a 75.0% (9/12) field goal success rate and 60.0% (3/5) 3-point shot success rate. He scored on all 12 free throws even in front of the free throw line.
Leonard, who missed the entirety of last season due to a knee injury, was not very good at the beginning of this season. After playing only two games, he felt pain on the side of his knee, so he was out of power for nearly a month, and even after returning, he injured his ankle.
However, after December, Leonard’s pace began to slowly pick up. He recorded an average of 19.5 points, 6.4 rebounds and 3.8 assists in the last 14 games, with a field goal success rate of 47.8%, and gradually began to establish himself as the core of the team’s offense. It is also encouraging that he has hit the 20-point mark in four of his last six games.
Of course, compared to the heyday, the influence is still lacking. However, Leonard’s presence is growing more and more to the extent that it can be clearly seen that the more he plays, the more his condition improves.
Currently, the Clippers are in 6th place in the Western Conference with a record of 22 wins and 21 losses on the season. However, considering that he can never let his guard down as he has only 1.5 games to play against No. 11 Portland, a ranking that does not even make it to the play-in tournament, Leonard’s performance should be bigger and more consistent than he is now.