Los Angeles Clippers superstar Kawhi Leonard turned in one heck of a performance on Thursday, as he led his team to a 103-97 victory against his former team, the San Antonio Spurs. The two-time Finals MVP torched the Spurs with 38 points (on 15-of-32 shooting), two three-pointers, 12 rebounds, an assist, and four steals in 34 minutes of play.
Leonard was coming off a night's rest, as he sat out L.A.'s matchup against the Utah Jazz on Wednesday for load management purposes, and as it turns out, the night off absolutely worked in the favor of the 6-foot-7 forward.
Following Thursday's victory, Leonard explained why he is all in favor of managing his load, and how important he believes this will prove to be in the long run.
Clippers’ Kawhi Leonard on why he is so diligent w/ his postgame treatment: “I just want to be able to walk strong when I’m done playing this game. My son motivates me to keep playing. Once he gets to the age to play basketball, I want to be able to play with him still.” pic.twitter.com/NWJ4j6oekB
— Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) November 1, 2019
We can't help but drag Detroit Pistons guard Derrick Rose into this narrative, with the former MVP himself also known for occasionally sitting out games in order to help his body recover. Rose was the victim of multiple major, career-threatening injuries in the past, so in this respect, we all understand why the three-time All-Star opts to take the occasional night off.
This seems to be working wonders for Rose as well, with the 31-year-old starting the new season in tremendous fashion with the Pistons. In five appearances thus far, the 6-foot-3 point guard is currently averaging 20.4 points (on 55.3 percent shooting), 1.6 rebounds, 6.2 assists, 0.6 steals, and 0.4 blocks in 25.0 minutes off Detroit's bench. He should cool off at some point, but right now, we're seeing some vintage Derrick Rose.
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