The Los Angeles Clippers have had a tremendous season so far, entering the NBA restart with the second-best record in a ruthless Western Conference. They have already secured their spot in the postseason, and at this point, it is safe to say that this team has lived up to the lofty expectations many had on them prior to the start of the season, especially the kind they received after landing Kawhi Leonard.
Nevertheless, there are still a number of important questions that remain unanswered for this team. The most significant among them perhaps, is how reigning Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard will fare once the season finally restarts. The four-time All-Star has been LA's best player all season long, and needless to say, his performance the rest of the way will determine just how far this team will go this season.
The first question that needs to be asked is what kind of effect this four-month season hiatus has had on Leonard. The logical answer here is that it provided Leonard with some much-needed time off in order to prepare his body for the grueling postseason. It's as if the NBA took a summer break in the middle of the season, which logically speaking, can only bode well for a player whose game has been built around perpetual load management.
To be able to take a vacation in the middle of the season to allow one's body to rest and recuperate cannot be a bad thing, right? And knowing how much of a hard-worker Leonard is, we're pretty sure that he kept in shape while in quarantine. Kawhi is the type that keeps his eye on the prize at all times, so naturally, he would have kept his fitness and conditioning at a prime level. All in all, once the season restarts, we should expect to see a rested Kawhi Leonard, who's laser focus remains unmoved.
Then again, one aspect that cannot be ignored is rust. At this point, players are expected to enter the restart in late-season form. However, the length of the hiatus makes it seem and feel like the start of a new season for them. This is exactly the case for Leonard, who himself admitted to the same.
“Basically it’s a new season, pretty much,” Kawhi Leonard said per Andrew Greif of Los Angeles Times. “We’ve got eight games to get ready for the playoffs. We’ve got to use these games to build some habits and just build team chemistry, really.”
Looking at Leonard's form in his team's scrimmages, it does appear that Kawhi has a bit of rust to shake off. The 6-foot-7 forward has averaged just 10.7 points and 2.7 assists throughout the tune-up round, while going for a combined 12-of-46 from the field. That's certainly not the Leonard we've gotten used to, and while you can scoff this off as nothing more than meaningless scrimmage games, it still speaks volumes of Kawhi's form right now. Being that he is Kawhi Leonard, it would not be surprising if he turns it all around once the season officially kicks in, but still, his rough ride thus far is concerning, at the very least.
Earlier we touched on Leonard's mastery of the load management system. The Toronto Raptors executed this to perfection last season, saving Leonard's strength for when it mattered most — the playoffs. Needless to say, this is what we should expect to see from the Clippers the rest of the way. LA head coach Doc Rivers pretty much provided us with a preview of how he intends to let his superstar take a night or two off during the seedings round:
“Kawhi is healthy for the most part,” Rivers said. “That still doesn't mean that we don't want to maintain him and get him through the first eight games and get ready for the playoffs. We want to be smart about this. Not just for Kawhi, it's with everybody.”
Leonard has not played in a single back-to-back set for the Clippers all season long, and thankfully for them, they're not scheduled for another one for the rest of the campaign. They are slated to play eight games in 16 days, which is actually a pretty lax schedule. Nevertheless, as Rivers hinted above, that does not mean that they're not going to be resting Kawhi for a game or two.
You also need to take into account that at this point, seedings have taken less of significance due to the fact that there will be no home court advantage during the postseason. LA can afford to fall behind a bit in their final standing in the West, especially if the reward is a healthier Kawhi Leonard. The most important thing now is to get him to his peak condition in time for the playoffs.
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