As expected, Doc Rivers and the Los Angeles Clippers are going to load manage star small forward Kawhi Leonard this season. Clippers shooting guard Lou Williams, who has torn his ACL before, talked about Leonard's load management with Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson on the latest episode of “All The Smoke.”
Lou Williams on Kawhi Leonard/load management – "He shouldn't be the case study. If the man can't play, he can't play. If they throw 'load management' on it, it's be a problem. But even on games that's not b2b's, he can't play. So I don't think he's the poster child for it." pic.twitter.com/vJg4vKGCCv
— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) November 21, 2019
Load management worked well for Leonard last season with the Toronto Raptors. Leonard was fairly fresh in the playoffs and led Toronto to its first-ever championship, winning his second Finals MVP along the way.
Leonard dealt with left knee tendinitis during the NBA Finals against the Golden State Warriors. The Clippers want to make sure Leonard is as close to 100 percent for their playoff run, so we are likely going to see Leonard sit out a few games this season. We also have to remember the quad injury Kawhi dealt with during the 2017-18 season with the San Antonio Spurs, as that can flare up at any moment.
That’s where the Clippers’ depth will come in handy. Williams and Montrezl Harrell are more than capable of carrying the load on offense. Plus, now that Paul George is back, the Clippers have two superstars to use for scoring.
In 10 games this season, Leonard is averaging 25.8 points, 8.6 rebounds and 5.7 assists. The three-time All-Star and two-time Defensive Player of the Year is shooting 43.2 percent from the field, 28.8 percent from beyond the arc and 85.1 percent from the free-throw line.
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