{"id":111543,"date":"2024-12-10T22:37:49","date_gmt":"2024-12-11T03:37:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=111543"},"modified":"2024-12-10T22:37:49","modified_gmt":"2024-12-11T03:37:49","slug":"clippers-tyronn-lue-kawhi-leonard-concern","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/12\/10\/clippers-tyronn-lue-kawhi-leonard-concern\/","title":{"rendered":"Clippers Decision-Maker Discusses Kawhi Leonard Concern"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The Los Angeles Clippers have went through a nearly one-third of their 2024-25 campaign without the decorated <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/l\/leonaka01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Kawhi Leonard<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Now, with Christmas right around the corner, they\u2019re <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/12\/06\/kawhi-leonard-performs-on-court-drills-at-the-intuit-dome\/\" target=\"_self\">expecting a Klaw-sized gift<\/a> in the immediate future. At 14-11, the Clippers certainly aren\u2019t complaining about adding another ornament. However, Leonard\u2019s extended absence has led to questions about how he\u2019ll look when he returns.<\/p>\n<p>L.A.\u2019s evolution into an undeniably elite defensive team only adds to them.<\/p>\n<h2>Clippers Decision-Maker Ty Lue Discusses Kawhi Leonard Concerns<\/h2>\n<p>\u201cHe\u2019s a defensive-minded guy who can guard the basketball, guard five different positions,\u201d Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue tells reporters (h\/t The Athletic\u2019s Law Murray), unfazed by the uncertainty surrounding Leonard. \u201cFor him coming into what we\u2019re doing, it shouldn\u2019t be hard <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/5980610\/2024\/12\/09\/kawhi-leonard-return-clippers\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">for him to get involved<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>To that point, the Clippers\u2019 defense ranks fifth in opponent\u2019s points per game (107.4) and seventh in defensive rating (109.7) this season. With myriad players who are some combination of <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/FN2mPh_fwHU\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">long, athletic, and physical<\/a>, they have the championship-level defensive personnel. Leonard will only help that.<\/p>\n<p>His burst and lateral movement will be monitored closely, especially early on. Lower leg injuries can sap a player\u2019s athleticism and he\u2019s had multiple. However, his defensive aptitude doesn\u2019t rely on explosiveness as much as intelligence and anticipation. With his physical tools and intangibles, he should still have a positive influence at that end.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Kawhi Leonard - Active Hands (23\/24 Defensive Highlights)\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/4L6PdMajG4M?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Fortunately for Leonard, he probably won\u2019t have to guard the toughest defensive assignments when he returns anyways. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/p\/powelno01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Norman Powell<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/d\/dunnkr01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Kris Dunn<\/a> have done a terrific job while starting on the wing. If Leonard starts in place of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/j\/jonesde02.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Derrick Jones Jr.<\/a> when he returns, he also has the benefit of guarding 4s, which are usually less active than other positions.<\/p>\n<h3>What About The Other End?<\/h3>\n<p>Leonard\u2019s ability to acclimate to the Clippers\u2019 offense shouldn\u2019t be a matter of concern either. Powell has stepped into a larger role in the offense and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/h\/hardeja01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">James Harden<\/a>\u00a0wants to prove he\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/12\/02\/james-harden-media-day-promise\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">not too far removed<\/a> from his prime. However, there\u2019s just as much room for Leonard to make his presence felt as there was last season.<\/p>\n<p>In fact, there might be more.<\/p>\n<p>Powell is averaging a career-high 23.6 points per game on 49.2 percent shooting from the field and 48.6 percent from three. That compares favorably with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/g\/georgpa01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Paul George<\/a>\u2019s production in 2023-24, as he averaged 22.6 points per game, shooting 47.1 percent from the field and 41.3 percent from outside. Yet, George is a more sophisticated shot-creator than Powell, which creates a vacuum in the offense.<\/p>\n<p>Leonard may be, as Lue says, \u201cdefensive-minded.\u201d Nonetheless, he\u2019s one of the best two-way players in the NBA. The jokes about Leonard\u2019s mechanical personality take on a different life when considering his technical proficiency at the offensive end.<\/p>\n<p>He\u2019s the Terminator. Cyborg. Iron Man. Like Miami Heat forward <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/b\/butleji01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jimmy Butler<\/a>, he\u2019s a late bloomer offensively but still a deadly nightshade.<\/p>\n<p>With that being said, Leonard\u2019s familiarity with fitting in could help him amid his impending return. He\u2019s already been able to evaluate what the team needs from him the most while he\u2019s on the sideline. Easing himself back into the mix can help his teammates keep their momentum and him build his.<\/p>\n<p>As a player who has averaged 24.1 points per game on .517-.411-.880 shooting splits over the past three seasons, the Clippers definitely aren\u2019t just going to forget about Leonard. That doesn\u2019t mean they have to toss him out of the frying pan and into the fire though. Nor have they, to this point of the season.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Los Angeles Clippers have went through a nearly one-third of their 2024-25 campaign without the decorated Kawhi Leonard. Now, with Christmas right around the corner, they\u2019re expecting a Klaw-sized gift in the immediate future. At 14-11, the Clippers certainly aren\u2019t complaining about adding another ornament. However, Leonard\u2019s extended absence has led to questions about [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5008,"featured_media":111620,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[27,1608,62,3],"tags":[168,4745,612],"class_list":["post-111543","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-clippers","category-basketball","category-nba","category-news","tag-kawhi-leonard","tag-nba-injuries","tag-tyronn-lue"],"modified_by":"Quenton S Albertie","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111543","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5008"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=111543"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111543\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":111622,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111543\/revisions\/111622"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/111620"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=111543"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=111543"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=111543"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}