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The Los Angeles Clippers suffered yet another home loss against the Dallas Mavericks in Game 5 after evening up the series at 2-2. The Clippers are now down 3-2 in the series and will need to win another road game to force a Game 7 back in Los Angeles.
During Wednesday night's game, the Clippers seemed scrambled at times, especially since they have no answer for Luka Doncic. Kawhi Leonard had an off night as well, as he shot 7-of-19 overall, 1-of-7 from 3-point range, and turned the ball over five times. The Clippers were outscored by eight points in his 42 minutes, while Paul George was a plus-17. Leonard was on the court as the Mavs went on a huge run at the end of the third quarter to take control, and he was unable to stop the bleeding.
In the final seconds of the game, Leonard had a chance to tie it up. Instead, he got nothing but air on his desperation 3-point attempt, resulting in a disappointing defeat. With the Clippers now on the brink of a disastrous playoff elimination for the second season in a row, one has to wonder what the future holds for Leonard and if Game 6 could be his last in a Clippers uniform.
It certainly would be shocking if it was, after the Clippers did everything they could to pair Leonard with George in 2019. In order to secure Leonard's commitment in free agency, LA traded Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Danilo Gallinari, five first-round picks and two first-round swaps to the Oklahoma City Thunder for George.
The Clippers went all in on becoming a title contender, and right now it looks like it could backfire in a big way. They failed in epic fashion in the bubble in 2020 and could go out in the first round this year. There were chemistry issues last season LA was hoping to fix with Tyronn Lue in charge and some new players on board, but the team still seems to have some leadership problems.
After Leonard's missed 3-point shot late in the game, he could be seen talking to an angry Rajon Rondo. Rondo's eyes got so big as if he couldn't believe what he was hearing:
Rondo's reaction after this Kawhi shot to tie the game 👀 pic.twitter.com/yqLF8hW1P9
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) June 3, 2021
The superstar and leader of the team had just put up a massive air ball to tie the game, and Shannon Sharpe believes Leonard was trying to blame Rondo:
Kawhi, air balled a gm tying 3 and looked like he blamed Rondo for the pass. Rondo, looked like, WTF are talking about, you just air balled a shot. That’s not my fault.
— shannon sharpe (@ShannonSharpe) June 3, 2021
While things look dire right now, the Clippers could still win this series. They've already won in Dallas twice and could easily win two games in a row against a Mavs team that relies so heavily on one player.
But the Clippers are now on the ropes and have no margin for error. If they lose, would Leonard actually think about declining his player option and bolting elsewhere? The franchise gave up its future to acquire Leonard and George, but they have nothing to show for it so far and could be left in a terrible spot if Leonard leaves. George is under contract well into this decade and is a great player, but losing Leonard would be brutal, even if they were able to get something back in a sign-and-trade. The whole point of this exercise was to build a dominant contender with Leonard and George.
We don't know what Leonard is currently thinking. The assumption has been that he wants to be in Los Angeles (he's from there) and won't leave. However, would another playoff humiliation change his mind? We at least can't count it out, meaning Game 6 could potentially be it for Leonard with LA if things go south.
What we do know is Kawhi Leonard needs to be better in order for the Clippers to advance. It's time to put up or shut up.
