The Los Angeles Clippers sit at 5-16, their season spiraling despite Kawhi Leonard delivering some of his best basketball. The team has dropped three straight games, with losses to the Memphis Grizzlies, Dallas Mavericks, and Miami Heats revealing problems far deeper than one superstar can solve.
Over his last three games, Leonard averaged 35 points on 57 percent shooting. He dropped 39 against Memphis, 30 against Dallas, and 36 against Miami. “He's a +15 in these games, yet the Clippers have lost them all,” Joey Linn of Sports Illustrated highlighted the paradox.
Leonard torched Memphis for 39 points on 15-of-24 shooting in just 29 minutes, yet the Clippers blew a hot start and collapsed in the second half. Against Dallas the following night, his 30-point effort couldn't overcome Cooper Flagg's historic 35-point eruption.
The Miami debacle proved most demoralizing. Leonard poured in 36 points, including 19 in the fourth quarter to cut the lead to 12. But the Heat had already buried LA with 140 points and a franchise-record tying 24 three-pointers. A brutal 30-2 second quarter run essentially ended the contest before halftime.
The defensive breakdowns have become systematic. LA ranks 25th in defensive rating after finishing third last season. Following the Lakers loss, Leonard called out the team's inability to make opposing stars uncomfortable, emphasizing they need to force better scorers to pass like opponents do to them.
James Harden's minus-39 rating against Miami exemplified the team's struggles. Despite averaging 27.6 points this season, he played just 20 minutes before being benched for the final 22 minutes. His scoring hasn't translated to victories. Leonard summed up the mindset after the Dallas loss, channeling his inner Jim Mora. The two-time champion stressed focusing on winning one game before thinking about championships.
The Clippers' 2-14 stretch since starting 3-2 marks their worst 21-game span since 2010-11. Leonard's brilliance only magnifies how badly everything else has fallen apart.
