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San Antonio Spurs fans waited all season to call out Kawhi Leonard. With him sitting on the bench due to injury, and failing to play in Games 5 or 6, they got their chance.
Leonard has an ACL-related injury, though the official details are a little murky. For obvious reasons, Kawhi has every right to sit out if he’s not comfortable playing.
Rumors of Leonard’s supposed dissatisfaction with the Clippers training staff surfaced at the wrong time. With Kawhi out, it’s been up to No. 2 scorer Paul George to fill in, which he has done admirably.
For Spurs fans, it’s a familiar site. Leonard has an opt-out in his contract after the season, and he’ll likely receive an even more lucrative deal in Los Angeles or elsewhere should he act on it. Risking all that for a couple playoff games doesn’t make a lot of sense from Kawhi’s perspective.
NBA Playoffs: Spurs fans and NBA Twitter took aim at Kawhi Leonard
San Antonio Spurs fans came at Kawhi with some classic load management tweets, even though in this case he likely had every right to sit out.
It was reported that had there been a Game 7, Leonard potentially would have suited up. Though, even at that point, he would’ve been a game-time decision.
Whether it’s fair or not, the Clippers gave it their best shot without their best player in Leonard.