Clippers' Marcus Morris calls out Joe Ingles for 'cheap shot' that injured Kawhi Leonard

Kawhi Leonard's Clippers teammate recently called out Joe Ingles for a "cheap shot" which led to Leonard's previous injury

Los Angeles Clippers star Kawhi Leonard previously suffered an ACL injury that kept him off the court for over a full year. The injury came during the 2020-2021 NBA playoffs following a bump from Joe Ingles of the Utah Jazz. Leonard's teammate Marcus Morris recently referred to Ingles' bump as a “cheap shot,” per Tomer Azarly of ClutchPoints.

“I felt like it was a cheap shot in a cheap manner,” Morris said, “probably that's what hurt the most. It was a non-competitive play.”

"For him to go out in such a — I felt like it was a cheap shot but, you know, such a cheap manner. I think that’s what hurt the most. A non-competitive play. He’s in great spirits. I know he’s happy to be out there."

Marcus Morris on the play that injured Kawhi Leonard in 2021 pic.twitter.com/olC5lsrdCd

— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) October 24, 2022

Most people didn't think much of Ingles' role in all of this. Focus shifted to the Clippers and their playoff run without Kawhi Leonard. LA went on to win a few more games before getting eliminated later in the postseason. They would ultimately fall short in the 2021-2022 playoffs as well without Leonard.

Here's the exact moment where Kawhi Leonard injured his knee. 😓

The Clippers star stayed on for a minute after Joe Ingles' intentional foul before leaving the game for good.

(h/t @TomerAzarly)pic.twitter.com/R8DW6SpRC0

— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) June 16, 2021

Kawhi Leonard recently spoke on the mental toll of missing games due to the injury.

“It was just devastating getting hurt in that period of time, in the playoffs, when you’re on a good run,” Leonard said. “feel like that first part, for me, was harder than anything.”

Whether Joe Ingles' play was dirty or not, it was undeniably detrimental to the Clippers in the long run. LA very well may have reached the NBA Finals had Kawhi Leonard stayed on the floor. Ingles has yet to respond to Morris' accusation.

Nevertheless, the Clippers are hoping for a healthy 2022-2023 campaign. This is unquestionably a team with championship potential if Kawhi Leonard and Paul George are active during the NBA playoffs.