Clippers Kawhi Leonard has now scored 24+ points in 11 straight games for the first time in his career
When Kawhi Leonard first returned to court he left fans cold. Not just because his percentages and averages were light-years away from the last version we remembered him by, but also because he wasn’t ever in complete physical availability to play continually for his team.
During the first two months of the campaign the Los Angeles star was only present in 11 out of the team’s 32 matches, as his 11.3 points per game with a 44% shooting efficiency made the alarms go off around him.
But none of this was a true reflection of what was to come, Kahwi just needed some time. Time to get back on his two feet, to achieve his optimal pace and start running again. Ever since Decembert 21st, Leonard hasn’t stopped acumulating amazing performances, finally lifting his percentages again, but also having a huge impact on his team’s culture on court.
Players to average at least 27 PPG on 50/40/90 splits in the month of January (min 10 GP):
1. Kawhi Leonard
That’s it. That’s the list. pic.twitter.com/hbfIbOFKGC
— Joey Linn (@joeylinn_) February 1, 2023
His revival has been made more evident during his last eleven matches, with 29.7 points per game product of 57.4% from field goals, 46.3% from three-pointers and 91.8% from the free-throw line. His not only back, he’s better than ever! To this, we must complement his stats with averages of 2 steals, 0.8 blocks and 4.2 assists per games in 36.4 minutes of play.
The last time out was probably his best performance yet, as the foward led his team to an amazing comeback against the Bulls in Chicago. Leonard dropped 33 points, won 4 rebounds, handed out 5 assists, took 5 steals and produced two blocks! Kawhi was especially key in the last minutes of play as he guided the Clippers to win after scoring 12 out of the 23 points his team made in the final stretch.
Check out his highlights from last night’s Clippers triumph 108 to 103 at the United Center:
[embedded content]
Kawhi becomes even more necessary to the Los Angeles club in games like these, especially known to the fact that the Clippers have a 7-0 win record whenever he’s on fire scoring over 30 points. His teammate Paul George has a similar track of 6-2 for the same reason. So for the first time in his career, the Los Angeles star has accomplished 24+ points in eleven games in a row, and his team just keeps winning.
Not too long ago, the 31-year-old made a big trade demand for his roster, as he has wanted to get back with his title-winning teammates from Toronto. Leonard wishes to reunite with Fred VanVleet, but the Phoenix Suns have made it difficult as they are also pushing strong to trade for the point guard before the trade deadline is here on February 9th.
After an irregular start of the season, Tyronn Lue’s men are finally high up the standings as they commonly deserve. With this last victory over the Bulls, the Clippers rank 4th best in the West with a 29-25 record, after winning seven out of their last ten NBA matches.
Some of our favorite sport betting sites consider the Los Angeles side possesses more chances of making the playoffs than not (-500), but seem to believe they have even more probabilties to achieve this than the Dallas Mavericks. Who do you believe will make the Conference’s final stages?
Source: Basketball Insider
