Kawhi Leonard has unfortunately pulled up with yet another injury, something that made sure of his absence from Game 5 against the Dallas Mavericks. Per NBA.com, this has been brought on by inflammation in his right knee, the same one that he was forced to have surgery on back in 2021. Being torn up by the news, Skip Bayless went on a rant about the topic, blaming the cruel basketball gods for the Clippers star’s career being marred by injury.
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Speaking on ‘X’, he said the following on the matter.
“Nobody works harder than Kawhi. But sometimes a great player is star-crossed and you do not have the basketball Gods on your side.”
Kawhi Leonard is unlucky there. When it comes to health, there is likely no player in the NBA who takes care of himself quite as well as the Clippers star. However, at the end of the day, when it has mattered most, his body has practically abandoned him on multiple occasions. And now, it may be the reason that the Clippers lose in the first round, despite having been brilliant all year long.
Worse, it appears that his absence in the NBA playoffs has become a rather cruel pattern as well.
Kawhi Leonard’s terrible luck with injuries
Leonard has always been the kind of player to sit on the sidelines for large parts of the regular season to save his body for the postseason. However, unfortunately, his body has failed him there too in the last few years. The last time Kawhi Leonard was healthy during the postseason was 2021 when the Clippers eventually lost in the second round.
Worse, in the last three years Leonard has played a cumulative 4 playoff games [per Basketball Reference], practically being consistently forced out of the lineup when his team needs him the most.
As for the series at hand at the moment, it remains to be seen how the Clippers do without Kawhi. Can they win Game 5? And even if they don’t can they come back in this series at all?
