On December 27, Beijing time, the Clippers vs Hornets at home. Before the game, the Clippers officially announced: Leonard continues to miss the game due to a hip contusion, and this is the third game of Leonard's injury suspension. Originally, everyone thought that Xiaoka would come back today, and he had already been given 6 days to recover. But Tyronn Lue said the card wasn't ready for the game yet.
Ka Jr. led the Clippers to a nine-game winning streak, and as soon as he was injured, the Clippers lost to the Thunder and the Green Army in quick succession. For the first time since the 2016-17 season, Leonard was fully attendant in the first 27 games of the season. I thought it was a good start, and the health card returned with full blood, but I didn't expect him to be injured again. The Clippers said that Xiaoka was observed daily and did not give a timetable for his comeback.
During the Clippers' nine-game winning streak, Leonard averaged 29.3 points, 6 rebounds, 4.1 assists, 1.2 steals and 0.6 blocks per game, shooting 61.3% from the field, 50% from three-point range and 95.7% from the free throw line. The combined shooting percentage of the three is already more than 200, which is terrible! There is no doubt that Leonard is the thickest thigh of the Clippers, and half of the team is the sky!
Including today's game, Leonard has missed a total of three games this season. He played in 27 games for the Clippers, averaging 34.6 minutes per game, scoring 24.4 points, 5.9 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.5 steals and 0.7 blocks while shooting 52.1% from the field, 42.9% from three-point range and 87.7% from the free throw line. True shooting percentage of 63.1 percent, 51st in the league.
In addition, Jr. has an average plus/minus of +7.6 per game this season, 11th in the league, and is also the highest-ranked player on the Clippers team. Another statistic to keep in mind is that Leonard averaged a career-high number of minutes played per game. This is also one of the areas that Clippers fans are unhappy with Tyronn Lue: Did he overuse the small card?
Xiaoka is 32 years old this year, ranking 26th in the league in playing time, lower than Durant and thick eyebrows, which is not high. But he has suffered too many injuries in recent years: quadriceps tendonitis in his final year with the Spurs, a partial tear of the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee in the 2021 playoffs, which lasted 476 days, and a torn meniscus in his right knee last season.
Let's take a look at the attendance rate of the small card in recent years (regular season): 9 games in 2017-18, 60 games in 2018-19, 57 games in 2019-20, 52 games in 2020-21, 0 games in 2021-22, and 52 games in 2022-23. He's played 27 games in a row this season, and Tyronn Lue hasn't let him rest.
In the first two games of Leonard's absence, the Clippers lost to the Thunder by 19 points and the Celtics by another 37 points. "Leonard carried us on his shoulders and he was like a beast on the field," Tyronn Lue said. When he's out, we're missing a big defensive gate, and the rest of the players aren't used to the Celtics' big defense. "Brief summary: Leonard is the thigh!
Aren't the Clippers the Big Four? What about the other three stats? George is averaging 22.8 points, 5.6 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 1.7 steals in 34.4 minutes per game this season while shooting 45.6 percent, 40.2 percent and 93.3 percent from three. True shooting percentage of 59.6%, 111th in the league. George averaged +5.8 plus/minus per game, the second-highest on the Clippers.
Harden averaged 17.3 points, 4.8 rebounds, 7.7 assists and 1.5 steals in 33.5 minutes per game while shooting 46.8%, 42.9% and 86.8% from three. Willis averaged 24.1 minutes per game, with 11.3 points, 6.4 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 1 steal while shooting 46%, 25.4% and 63.4% from three. The Big Four still have the most playing time.
Final question: Do you think the Clippers should reduce the playing time of the small card?