The Los Angeles Clippers have had to look for ingenious ways to survive without Kawhi Leonard, as he's already missed seven of the team's first 25 games this season.
The most recent display of it was against the Indiana Pacers, as the Clippers went to more 2-3 zones and a 1-2-2 press to keep their opponents on their feet.
“We had to junk the game up,” head coach Doc Rivers admitted to Jovan Buha of The Athletic. “We knew that coming into it. … We played a zone that we’ve probably practiced three times. And I thought the zone, at least in the first half, allowed us to stand a lot and keep our legs. Then in the second half, we went and got the game.”
The gambit worked, as the Clippers grabbed a 12-point lead at the half and maintained it to finish with a 110-99 win.
Los Angeles will have to come up with different ways to keep teams guessing, especially since Leonard is bound to miss a lot more games this season, yet to be cleared for back-to-backs by the team and not playing in one since April 2017 as a member of the San Antonio Spurs.
Leonard played in only 60 games last season with the Toronto Raptors adopting a similar strategy of resting him in back-to-backs — something that gave them good enough results and kept his legs fresh for the postseason.
“You got guys down, shorthanded, it’s tough to play a good team offensively man to man,” said Patrick Beverley. “We just want to muck it up, show them something different.”
The Clippers haven't skipped a beat thus far, surviving Leonard's many absences and capably waiting for Paul George's return, now sporting an 11-3 record since he returned to the lineup.
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