The Los Angeles Clippers find themselves down 2-0 in the first round of the NBA playoffs. This was unexpected given that the Clippers were favored to defeat the Mavericks in what many thought would be in just five or six games. But there have been so many factors that have contributed to the Clippers being down 0-2. The Clippers’ defense, rotations, and lack of contributions from their role players have been the major factors as to why this is so. Kawhi Leonard, meanwhile, is doing everything he can to keep the Clippers alive.

He’s played 41 minutes in both games and scored 26 points and 41 points in both game one and game two. The Klaw is getting ample help from his sidekick, Paul George as well, who has had a great season. But the Clippers cannot seem to stop Luka Doncic, who has been the best player of the series so far. 

Luka Doncic is averaging a remarkable 35 points, 9.0 assists and 8.5 rebounds per game. It also helps that Doncic’s teammates have been showing up—looking like the hungrier team in this series. The question for Leonard and the Clippers right now is how do they respond? Clippers head coach Ty Lue has been down 1-3 in a series before but he had LeBron James to help him navigate one of the greatest upsets in NBA Finals history. Can Leonard do the same? 

The answer is yes. Leonard and his team can find a way to recover from the last two games—it’s just going to be harder. The Clippers need to figure out how to defend Doncic, contain Tim Hardaway Jr. and hope the Mavs don’t make their threes like they’ve been making them in the past couple of games. Leonard has been down 0-2 before and found a way to win the NBA championship with a loaded Toronto Raptors squad.

Leonard has to lead. He is, after all, their best player. The Klaw is known to be a quiet star player but that can’t be in the NBA, especially in the playoffs. When the team is on the verge of going 0-3, they look at how their leader responds—and follow through.

In fairness to Leonard, he’s been a good example for his teammates this season. After sitting out a handful of games last season, Leonard has often showed up in back-to-back games this season and has played his heart out. It’s his responsibility now to change the Clippers culture and perhaps play even harder in the next two games—which could be the most important games for the Clippers franchise. 

Leonard also needs as much help as possible. George has been great but their role players are nowhere to be found. Where is Marcus Morris Sr? Is Reggie Jackson just a bad playoff performer? How about Luke Kennard? Who the Clippers signed to a $64 million dollar deal this season. They all need to show up and be the Clippers that had one of the best offenses in the league this season. 

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What Leonard must do to erase a 0-2 deficit this season is to will his team to victory in different ways. His game is already doing that but Leonard has to work with Lue to figure out how to defend the Mavs. It’s not going to be easy playing in a packed and hostile American Airlines Center but for the Clippers to save what could be the last few days of the Leonard-George era, they need to come out with a sense of desperation. 

This next couple of days will be a huge test for Kawhi Leonard. Will his team once again falter under pressure? Or will he lead them to overcome what is their biggest challenge so far this season? At this point, fans have cringed on how the Clippers tried to avoid the Lakers in the first round only to be dominated by Doncic and his team in the past two games.

As the superstar of the team, Leonard needs to deliver. And he needs to do it right away. Kawhi came to LA to be close to home and perhaps finally be the face of a franchise. He made it seem that way when New Balance (the brand Kawhi is signed with) released slogans about LA now being his city. It’s up to Leonard now to back this up. 

For what it’s worth, there’s a good chance that the Mavs won’t shoot 50 percent from the field and the three point line anymore. The Clippers cannot control the Mavs’ shooting but they can certainly make an effort to contain it. As for the offense, Lue has got to find a way to fix his rotations and get his role players to play like how they did in the regular season.

If Kawhi Leonard and the Clippers show life and win the next two games, they’re back on the driver’s seat.