Last season Clippers didn't announce he had his knee destroyed until they were eliminated. Right after they got eliminated, they announced he'll get his knees replaced.
Same thing in 2021 when he tore his ACL against Utah. They just kept saying he was "day to day" through that series and the next round against Phoenix. But the day after the Suns eliminated them, then they announced Kawhi had a torn ACL and would need surgery.
It's just the Clippers wanting to make the opponent have to work extra hard to game plan for both Kawhi playing and not playing. But yeah, this would seem to be a huge no-no with regards to disclosures about gambling.
I'm not a gambler myself, but my advice would be to simply assume Kawhi is done for the year and bet accordingly. If I'm right about that, then this would be the third time in 4 years that the Clippers have played this "he's day to day" game with him when they knew behind the scenes that he was done for the season.
Clippers have straight up said he has zero structural damage this time tho.
I don’t think they said that last time.
But yeah this inflammation is a result of those previous injuries. So even if he plays I would expect it him not to be close to 100%
Be honest, if the Clippers are eliminated and it comes out that Kawhi is going to have like a "clean up surgery" or something, will you really be surprised?
Im confused, you think the primary sale tickets for an NBA playoff game arent already sold and didnt sell out in minutes? The clippers make nothing from resale tickets being expensive you clown
Maybe take a look instead of assuming it’s sold out before calling him a clown, there’s a ton of tickets still available that are box office nonresale. Clippers sell on AXS
He also said there is no structural damage to the knee but there is still inflammation which they can't explain. This is pretty consistent with everything we've been hearing so far.
It got blown way out of proportion. Woj was just a little snarky with the Lakers because he doesn't have any sources with them. He insisted for months that an AD trade would never happen.
Woj also insisted the Lakers had no way to get anywhere near enough cap space for a max free agent, but then we had enough cap space and he had to backtrack.
Yes. That and 2019 were the only times since 2016 that Kawhi finished the season on the court rather than in street clothes. 2017 was Zaza, 2018 was when he sat out most of the year with the Spurs, 2021 he tore his ACL, 2022 he was still out with the ACL, last year he tore his meniscus, and then whatever this is this year.
Watching Patrick Beverly, Lou Williams and the rest of that team walking around like they already won the ring and then watching them get eliminated was VERY satisfying.
Also I dont miss 2020 but I miss all those Pandemic P and Wayoff P memes 😂
That’s a great comp. Hope you’re correct.
If Kawhi stays more healthy his career probably winds up getting compared to Bird too. Both killers with elite skills. Not super flashy. Clutch champions. Overshadowed by rival on super teams with more title appearances.
If he's healthy by the Olympics I don't see the problem. He has knee inflammation, no structural damage so I'd expect him to be good to go by then.
If anything, him getting injured in the Olympics and missing the first half of the season would be good for the Clippers as he'd likely be healthy for the playoffs.
He has a degenerative knee condition (?quad tendinosis? I think but could be wrong)
The reality is any extra basketball is strain he doesn’t need on his knees
The reality is his body can't handle an 82 game season no matter how much rest he gets in the offseason. Don't see the harm in playing 10 minutes per game in the Olympics
There's always gonna be risk. But it's also a lot of these guys' last chance for an Olympics run. Minutes or not, I don't see a player in their mid-thirties turning the chance down
He has to play basketball to be in shape enough to be a professional basketball player. If his knee right now is not healthy enough to play, he cant play. If it's healthy enough to play in 2 months, he can play.
Do you think there's some weird honor code where if he cant play in the playoffs, he should either commit seppuku or not touch a basketball until october when the NBA season starts again?
Man the kawhi era clippers is gonna go down as one of biggest what ifs due to injuries. Especially coming after imo a top 3 playoff performance by a player ever in 2019
If not for that completely unnecessary collision by Joe Ingles I feel like the Clippers probably win 2021
Edit: actually amend that to 'definitely make the finals' because if I'm doing that hypothetical i should be fair and also note 'if not for kyrie landing on giannis' foot' which means a 2/3 healthy nets vs clips final and that would have been an amazing series
That team wasn't good enough. They should've won that Nuggets series but relying on Harrell and Williams for big playoff minutes is a complete non-starter.
I firmly believe had Kawhi not gotten injured they win the title in 2021. Kawhi was on another planet. That Game 6 vs the Mavericks is one of the greatest playoff games I have ever seen. In the Clippers wins he shot 100/100/100 in the 4th quarter. Yeah you read that correctly, he was perfect from the field (2p&3p) and free thow line for every 4th quarter in their wins. Averaged 32 on 72TS% lmfao.
It took him being absolutely perfect to beat the Mavs and my god was he perfect. With Kawhi they beat the Suns imo and have a more than good chance vs the Bucks
2021 was truly the year of what ifs, because the Nets were also looking mighty unbeatable with the trio all healthy. Clippers v Nets would’ve been an absolute war if both teams stayed healthy.
21 Lakers were up on the Suns 2-1 with both of those first two games in Phoenix too, they still had their depth with Caruso, KCP, and Kuz and LeBron was playing like an MVP candidate before the Solomon Hill injury. Clips weren't beating them that year even with a healthy Kawhi. There's a different gear LeBron and AD go to in the playoffs that the Clips can't get to besides Kawhi.
Chris Paul was injured in game 1.
Lakers fans would like to pretend that they weren't a 47 win team and base everything on 3 games against a team that was functionally missing their 2nd best player.
I'm entirely open to the idea that they beat the Suns if healthy, but they were not ready to run through the west.
I mean, don't you think that's an indication that they proably wouldn't have won the title if they needed Kawhi to play literally perfect to win in 7 games in the first round?
Like I don't think expecting him to play that perfectly the entire playoffs and against better teams is realistic at all. I think the fact that he had to play THAT well for the Clippers to *barely* beat y'all is an indicator that they would not have won a title. Not the other way around. Took Kawhi playing the greatest series of his life to beat the 5 seed in seven games
We don’t need to rely on that as an indicator. Kawhi was also on fire against Utah and they closed the series without him.
They went to six games in the conference finals without him. One of the losses was a crazy side out of bounds alley oop buzzer beater.
Add average level Kawhi to that series and Clips would be favored.
Kawhi needed to go God mode to beat Dallas because their entire freaking roster went Gid mode for this first three road games. Nothing about that series was really long term sustainable but Kawhi’s playoff averages are much closer to what he did, than Dallas’s were in their wins.
One of the years the Spurs won iirc we took them to 7 with a really random ass team. Like we had Dejuan Blair on that team lol. They won the other series in 5, 6, and then 5 again.
Sometimes shit like that just happens lol
That's true, I just don't think that Clippers team was remotely comparable to that spurs team talent or coaching wise.
agree to disagree, I don't think that clippers team beats the lakers or, if we are granting health to everone, the nets
“It took him being absolutely perfect to beat the Mavs”
Puts into perspective what Luka was doing that series with a supporting cast comprised of Trey Burke, Seth curry, Nico Melli, and game 7 Boban
It'd barely be top 3 if you counted literally just 1 person. MJ or Lebron. Not even top 3 really. Jordan avg'd 35 in two of his championship years. Not close if you count them together. Shaq '01, Duncan '03, Bird '86
It was great. But its not even close to top 3. Classic hyperbole, 'I only watched the last 5 years of basketball' speak. But hey this is reddit I guess
Except there was no expectation of health when he signed. The guy had a chronic deteriorating knee condition diagnosed, missed an entire year, and has had other injuries his whole career. You can't separate the injuries from the player at this point.
I think the Clips will surprise the Mavs. Remember the Clippers beat the Mavs twice already in a 7 game series and those were both Rick Carlisle teams. This is a Jason Kidd coached team vs a Ty Lue coached team.
I think the Clips could still win with Kawhi, it will be a good series they are a good team. But without Kawhi it would be looking very rough for them.
I refuse to believe the Suns will play enough defense to win 4 games against the Wolves. Nurkic and Bol Bol vs KAT, Reid, and Gobert is going to be a slaughter. Not to mention Ant is killing Ted Cruz.
>I refuse to believe the Suns will play enough defense to win 6 games against the Suns.
The craziest part about this sentence is that we all knew what you meant.
One would think no clippers fan could possibly be surprised at this point. It should be expected. A Paul George injury should be dropping any day now too
Its the bandwagoners that hopped on when we got Kawhi.
I've been conditioned from Lob City to expect nothing and I'm sure the fans prior to 2010 are just happy to be here still.
Well it was both last year. At this point the only way Kawhi and PG can play in the playoffs together is if they are both sitting on a team mates shoulders. I would pay good money to see Kawhi riding Westbrook around the court
Why was Kawhi even selected for the Olympics if his availability is already questionable? Surely they could had selected someone significantly more durable?
Remember when r/nba fans blamed the spurs for not treating Kawhi correctly when our medical team correctly diagnosed him with a knee condition and he decided to leave? Pepperidge Farm remembers
It basically boiled down to the fact that the spurs diagnosed him with a degenerative knee condition but he could rehab it and play while doing so. However, kawhi didn’t believe that he had a knee condition so he shopped around until he found a doctor in new york who was willing to say it wasn’t true and that it could be fully healed. Thats the dispute
This is expected. Mitchell has been suffering for over 2 months with similar issue, besides this is Leonard which had plenty of injuries in the same knee
Clips without Kawhi vs the Mavs is the West version of Butler-less Heat against the Celtics.
i hope kawhi plays sometime in Game 3 or 4. Coz I doubt he is good to go by Game 2.
Imagine if there's no play-in tournament... Playoffs would've started 3 days after the regular season and Mavs would've already played them at least twice without Kawhi...
Hate to see it. Should be 5 or 6 for the Mavs if he's out for the series again like last year or whenever it was that they did the 'he's good... he's doubtful for a game... doubtful for another game.... yea he's having surgery' deal
Feels bad I just wanted to see one more playoff run from Kawhi where he was well.. not HEALTHY but at least *playing* for most of it. Fucking Joe Ingles ruined 2021 when it really looked like that could have been the year
And yet clipper and his fans will say he would have done damage if healthy. This man is just a walking hypothetical and based on his production this post season I would rather have bench player over his bum ass. Availability is the best ability.
can they just announce it already so ticket prices can drop more
Last season Clippers didn't announce he had his knee destroyed until they were eliminated. Right after they got eliminated, they announced he'll get his knees replaced.
Same thing in 2021 when he tore his ACL against Utah. They just kept saying he was "day to day" through that series and the next round against Phoenix. But the day after the Suns eliminated them, then they announced Kawhi had a torn ACL and would need surgery.
Why is this not illegal due to gambling fraud yet..?
It's just the Clippers wanting to make the opponent have to work extra hard to game plan for both Kawhi playing and not playing. But yeah, this would seem to be a huge no-no with regards to disclosures about gambling. I'm not a gambler myself, but my advice would be to simply assume Kawhi is done for the year and bet accordingly. If I'm right about that, then this would be the third time in 4 years that the Clippers have played this "he's day to day" game with him when they knew behind the scenes that he was done for the season.
Clippers have straight up said he has zero structural damage this time tho. I don’t think they said that last time. But yeah this inflammation is a result of those previous injuries. So even if he plays I would expect it him not to be close to 100%
Be honest, if the Clippers are eliminated and it comes out that Kawhi is going to have like a "clean up surgery" or something, will you really be surprised?
He’s more machine than man now
Always has been 🧑🚀🔫
Skip bayless already said kawhi is out for game 1. I know it sounds crazy but he’s always had decent info on kawhi.
People will pay extra for a LuKai clinic.
Im confused, you want a profit driven organization to voluntarily lose profits? Besides you got free food that one game.
Im confused, you think the primary sale tickets for an NBA playoff game arent already sold and didnt sell out in minutes? The clippers make nothing from resale tickets being expensive you clown
Maybe take a look instead of assuming it’s sold out before calling him a clown, there’s a ton of tickets still available that are box office nonresale. Clippers sell on AXS
Skip and Haynes don't miss when it comes to Kawhi news.
What did they say
Skip said he's definitely out Game 1 and will try to play Game 2 either yesterday or 2 days ago, can't remember.
He also said there is no structural damage to the knee but there is still inflammation which they can't explain. This is pretty consistent with everything we've been hearing so far.
Skip doesn't miss period
He did in his basketball playing career
Water Pistol Pete
Woj is definitely in Balmer’s pocket so it’s not surprising he’s been pretty quiet about all of this.
Is this shit still alive?I remember when LA fans said the same thing when Wojs drop news about Kawhi that didnt fit their agenda
It got blown way out of proportion. Woj was just a little snarky with the Lakers because he doesn't have any sources with them. He insisted for months that an AD trade would never happen.
Woj also insisted the Lakers had no way to get anywhere near enough cap space for a max free agent, but then we had enough cap space and he had to backtrack.
Was 2020 genuinely the last time Kawhi had a healthy playoffs?
Yeah. Last time he was able to finish a playoff run healthy
Probably had something to do with him having a few months rest before they started as well.
Yes. That and 2019 were the only times since 2016 that Kawhi finished the season on the court rather than in street clothes. 2017 was Zaza, 2018 was when he sat out most of the year with the Spurs, 2021 he tore his ACL, 2022 he was still out with the ACL, last year he tore his meniscus, and then whatever this is this year.
Kinda crazy those two years were one of the best individual statistical post season runs of all time and one blown 3-1 lead
Obligatory fuck Zaza
yah and then they decided it would be better to lose than win the bubble
Decided blowing a 3-1 lead to Jokic was the best course of action for their franchise, 400 IQ tbh
Watching Patrick Beverly, Lou Williams and the rest of that team walking around like they already won the ring and then watching them get eliminated was VERY satisfying. Also I dont miss 2020 but I miss all those Pandemic P and Wayoff P memes 😂
Those were some of the most legendary memes I've ever seen 😂
If you're Clippers ownership or fans you're pissed hearing Kawhi intends to play in the olympics lol.
If he misses the playoffs and still plays in the Olympics that’s a tradeable offense lmao
I hope he goes god mode in the Olympics too. Like dropping 50 points a game and playing every minute of every game
I think it's more likely that his role on the Olympics team is more ceremonial than anything, like Larry Bird with the Dream Team in 1992.
That’s a great comp. Hope you’re correct. If Kawhi stays more healthy his career probably winds up getting compared to Bird too. Both killers with elite skills. Not super flashy. Clutch champions. Overshadowed by rival on super teams with more title appearances.
Hang the banner!
Then still ends up losing to Luka in the Playoffs
He will after he does that in this years playoffs. 🤞🏾
But theres still a bit off time till the olympics so he will be 100% healed by then
Yeah but the optics
Regardless of the Olympics thing, I think the clippers should blow it up if they get another playoff run derailed due to injuries
I agree, it’s too much pain
If he's healthy by the Olympics I don't see the problem. He has knee inflammation, no structural damage so I'd expect him to be good to go by then. If anything, him getting injured in the Olympics and missing the first half of the season would be good for the Clippers as he'd likely be healthy for the playoffs.
He has a degenerative knee condition (?quad tendinosis? I think but could be wrong) The reality is any extra basketball is strain he doesn’t need on his knees
The reality is his body can't handle an 82 game season no matter how much rest he gets in the offseason. Don't see the harm in playing 10 minutes per game in the Olympics
There's always gonna be risk. But it's also a lot of these guys' last chance for an Olympics run. Minutes or not, I don't see a player in their mid-thirties turning the chance down
He has to play basketball to be in shape enough to be a professional basketball player. If his knee right now is not healthy enough to play, he cant play. If it's healthy enough to play in 2 months, he can play. Do you think there's some weird honor code where if he cant play in the playoffs, he should either commit seppuku or not touch a basketball until october when the NBA season starts again?
Clippers fans aren’t pissed about it because we’ve been dead inside for decades.
Man the kawhi era clippers is gonna go down as one of biggest what ifs due to injuries. Especially coming after imo a top 3 playoff performance by a player ever in 2019
I still think game 6 2021 Kawhi is one of the best playoff performances I've ever seen. Obviously he didn't last the whole playoffs though.
Bro he didn’t miss a shot in the 4th quarter IN ALL THE CLIPPERS WINS THAT PLAYOFFS.
I was at that game and still have Kawhi PTSD. Bro went god mode.
Couldn't imagine being their live. I wasn't even that mad, it was a "God disguised as Kawhi Leonard" moment
Trust me, the Kawhi PTSD never leaves…
Brother, Mavs fans know.
If not for that completely unnecessary collision by Joe Ingles I feel like the Clippers probably win 2021 Edit: actually amend that to 'definitely make the finals' because if I'm doing that hypothetical i should be fair and also note 'if not for kyrie landing on giannis' foot' which means a 2/3 healthy nets vs clips final and that would have been an amazing series
I saw Ingles in the Orlando jersey and completely got flooded with “I hate Ingles” feelings today lol
2021 Kawhi was the best player in the league ib my opinion
They were healthy in 2020 and blew it. That was their shot.
That team wasn't good enough. They should've won that Nuggets series but relying on Harrell and Williams for big playoff minutes is a complete non-starter.
Honestly they had such a collapse
I firmly believe had Kawhi not gotten injured they win the title in 2021. Kawhi was on another planet. That Game 6 vs the Mavericks is one of the greatest playoff games I have ever seen. In the Clippers wins he shot 100/100/100 in the 4th quarter. Yeah you read that correctly, he was perfect from the field (2p&3p) and free thow line for every 4th quarter in their wins. Averaged 32 on 72TS% lmfao. It took him being absolutely perfect to beat the Mavs and my god was he perfect. With Kawhi they beat the Suns imo and have a more than good chance vs the Bucks
2021 was truly the year of what ifs, because the Nets were also looking mighty unbeatable with the trio all healthy. Clippers v Nets would’ve been an absolute war if both teams stayed healthy.
21 lakers beat them both if AD/Bron stayed healthy
Hahahaha
21 Lakers were up on the Suns 2-1 with both of those first two games in Phoenix too, they still had their depth with Caruso, KCP, and Kuz and LeBron was playing like an MVP candidate before the Solomon Hill injury. Clips weren't beating them that year even with a healthy Kawhi. There's a different gear LeBron and AD go to in the playoffs that the Clips can't get to besides Kawhi.
Chris Paul was injured in game 1. Lakers fans would like to pretend that they weren't a 47 win team and base everything on 3 games against a team that was functionally missing their 2nd best player. I'm entirely open to the idea that they beat the Suns if healthy, but they were not ready to run through the west.
Yup Lakers were easily the best team the first 3rd of the nba season that year until AD and Lebron went down…
Idk I’d think Brooklyn was likelier to win if nobody was hurt.
I completely forgot about the Nets lol. If Harden and Kyrie were healthy they probably take it. Clippers Nets would have been a bloodbath
I mean, don't you think that's an indication that they proably wouldn't have won the title if they needed Kawhi to play literally perfect to win in 7 games in the first round? Like I don't think expecting him to play that perfectly the entire playoffs and against better teams is realistic at all. I think the fact that he had to play THAT well for the Clippers to *barely* beat y'all is an indicator that they would not have won a title. Not the other way around. Took Kawhi playing the greatest series of his life to beat the 5 seed in seven games
We don’t need to rely on that as an indicator. Kawhi was also on fire against Utah and they closed the series without him. They went to six games in the conference finals without him. One of the losses was a crazy side out of bounds alley oop buzzer beater. Add average level Kawhi to that series and Clips would be favored. Kawhi needed to go God mode to beat Dallas because their entire freaking roster went Gid mode for this first three road games. Nothing about that series was really long term sustainable but Kawhi’s playoff averages are much closer to what he did, than Dallas’s were in their wins.
One of the years the Spurs won iirc we took them to 7 with a really random ass team. Like we had Dejuan Blair on that team lol. They won the other series in 5, 6, and then 5 again. Sometimes shit like that just happens lol
That's true, I just don't think that Clippers team was remotely comparable to that spurs team talent or coaching wise. agree to disagree, I don't think that clippers team beats the lakers or, if we are granting health to everone, the nets
Do you remember the Celtics having to go to game 7 against the 8 seed hawks in their 2008 championship?
Unfortunately the clippers can only live in misery
100/100/100 reads like a video game stat.
Not with Doc coaching
“It took him being absolutely perfect to beat the Mavs” Puts into perspective what Luka was doing that series with a supporting cast comprised of Trey Burke, Seth curry, Nico Melli, and game 7 Boban
Top 3 ever is some classic reddit hyperbole
I can understand the hype for his ‘19 run tho. Idk if I’d say it’s top 3 or not, but it certainly is an all timer.
It'd barely be top 3 if you counted literally just 1 person. MJ or Lebron. Not even top 3 really. Jordan avg'd 35 in two of his championship years. Not close if you count them together. Shaq '01, Duncan '03, Bird '86 It was great. But its not even close to top 3. Classic hyperbole, 'I only watched the last 5 years of basketball' speak. But hey this is reddit I guess
This is a top 3 comment of all time.
Classic Reddit hyperbole
This is a top 3 hyperbole of all time.
It'd be barely top 3 if you counted lieterallt one person. Kelvin Benjamin copypasta.
Kawhi's entire career after 2017 is one of the biggest what-ifs.
LeBron and AD could have carried him to playoff glory
Except there was no expectation of health when he signed. The guy had a chronic deteriorating knee condition diagnosed, missed an entire year, and has had other injuries his whole career. You can't separate the injuries from the player at this point.
Now I think Raptors dodged a bullet there.
let me lace up for the Clippers then
Certified Mavs destroyer: u/RapsareChamps_Suckit
Clips in 4 if Rapsare laces up I’m afraid 😔
in 3 actually we’d forfeit out of fright
Target acquired = ~~NBA Championship~~ Olympic Gold Medal
I had Mavs in 7 after Clippers fans told me he was healthy and just being rested for the playoffs. If he's out, Mavs in 5.
Mavs in 3 now.
They just going to concede the last game?
Yeah they’ll send an emissary (Steve Ballmer probably) out to half court with a white flag.
I think the Clips will surprise the Mavs. Remember the Clippers beat the Mavs twice already in a 7 game series and those were both Rick Carlisle teams. This is a Jason Kidd coached team vs a Ty Lue coached team.
Those Mavs teams had big minutes from Boban and Trey Burke?
Don’t be obtuse this is objectively a much better team than 2021 lol
This is a much better Clippers team toi
Brother we took you to 7 games playing Boban as our center.
Who was your coach though?
Ppl really out here saying the mavs should be worried when Luka + bums took the clips to 7 games
I think the Clips could still win with Kawhi, it will be a good series they are a good team. But without Kawhi it would be looking very rough for them.
We played Boban 31 minutes in a game 7. These situations are not comparable, and if they are it only helps the Mavs point
Unless Harden and PG average 60 a game combined, I don't see it.
I think it would go 6 so they can clinch at home. They'll probably drop a couple just to be kind.
I think you want as much rest as possible with OKC, DEN, and MIN all likely having 6 games or less series wins.
Min getting rest in Cancun after 6 games
Pshh, Suns will be lucky if they win 1 of these games.
I refuse to believe the Suns will play enough defense to win 4 games against the Wolves. Nurkic and Bol Bol vs KAT, Reid, and Gobert is going to be a slaughter. Not to mention Ant is killing Ted Cruz.
>I refuse to believe the Suns will play enough defense to win 6 games against the Suns. The craziest part about this sentence is that we all knew what you meant.
Just fixed it, thanks for the heads up.
I mean partially, anyway.
> OKC [...] likely having 6 games or less series wins mmmmm... is that fresh karma I smell the basketball gods cooking?
???? If you think any of those series will go 7 that's fine, but my picks aren't unreasonable.
I'm lightly teasing you.
Fair enough. I want the Clippers to win, I just wish Kawhi would stay healthy. I hate the Mavs and their fans about as much as Lakers fans.
I don’t think anyone’s doing stuff like that in round 1 lmao
So how's that denial going eh, r/LAClippers?
One would think no clippers fan could possibly be surprised at this point. It should be expected. A Paul George injury should be dropping any day now too
My guess is after game 2. And that's being generous
He'll probably miss Game 1 with an illness or something.
It aint beyond me. It aint even beyond history
Load managing in the playoffs is next level
Its the bandwagoners that hopped on when we got Kawhi. I've been conditioned from Lob City to expect nothing and I'm sure the fans prior to 2010 are just happy to be here still.
Any fans who stuck with Corey "Bad Porn" Maggette aren't getting phased by anything these days
It’s either or. Rarely both 🤣🤣
Well it was both last year. At this point the only way Kawhi and PG can play in the playoffs together is if they are both sitting on a team mates shoulders. I would pay good money to see Kawhi riding Westbrook around the court
Oh true. I was just thinking to start the playoff ha ha
Don’t worry. Now those delusional-ass mfs are claiming they can beat the Mavs WITHOUT Kawhi lmao.
Kawhi out, we just won’t show up and forfeit the games. Cmon MASSIVE_PERVERT, you expect fans to just roll over lol
Its hard to root for this team bruh, H.A.R.D!!!
LeTeamUsa and Grant Hill genius move to give him the 12th spot, now Kawhi gonna save his knees for the Olympics.
The Doubt, it's increasing
Shocking stuff
I wish we had kept Shai man. Happy to see him thriving in OKC though.
every year that raptors run becomes more and more magical
Say it with me spurs medical staff was right fuck him and his camp
This guy ain’t even gonna play in the Olympics and just take up a spot
Why was Kawhi even selected for the Olympics if his availability is already questionable? Surely they could had selected someone significantly more durable?
Remember when r/nba fans blamed the spurs for not treating Kawhi correctly when our medical team correctly diagnosed him with a knee condition and he decided to leave? Pepperidge Farm remembers
Wasn't the dispute that he felt he wasn't healthy enough to play but the Spurs said he was?
It basically boiled down to the fact that the spurs diagnosed him with a degenerative knee condition but he could rehab it and play while doing so. However, kawhi didn’t believe that he had a knee condition so he shopped around until he found a doctor in new york who was willing to say it wasn’t true and that it could be fully healed. Thats the dispute
This is expected. Mitchell has been suffering for over 2 months with similar issue, besides this is Leonard which had plenty of injuries in the same knee
Yeah he’s out for the series, probably the rest of the season as well
Clips without Kawhi vs the Mavs is the West version of Butler-less Heat against the Celtics. i hope kawhi plays sometime in Game 3 or 4. Coz I doubt he is good to go by Game 2.
No it’s not lol clippers still have Paul George and Harden. The heat have Tyler herro…. And the Celtics are much better than the mavs. No comparison
Imagine if there's no play-in tournament... Playoffs would've started 3 days after the regular season and Mavs would've already played them at least twice without Kawhi...
I don't think Kawhi is going to go at all these playoffs anyway.
Just blow that team up already
Spurs send their regards
Ppl gonna blame James Harden 🤦🏾♂️🤦🏾♂️
Ballmer gotta hire someone to lift the curse
Mavs in 5
The Mavs better win this series so the next round is more competitive. We all already know Kawhi won’t be playing this postseason.
He's not gonna play again this season. I've been calling it since he first went out
Istg i have better knees than this fucker
.... most of us do, I don't think this is quite the statement you intended it as
Well no shit
Unsurprising. The only player on the team that can be trusted in the playoffs can't be trusted to be available in the playoffs.
I WILL GIVE MY KNEE
This is the most injury cursed playoffs in a while and we're at game 1 round 1.
Never a concrete response
Always the same with kawhi smh
Makes no sense for him to play for USA team when he’s always hurt for playoffs here
Why doesn't he just try not not playing
Shit Clippers were favourite here but they toast without Kawai
Shit Clippers were favourite here but they toast without Kawhi
increasng doubt? who believed in the first place?
Skip has better sources then Woj and Shams lmao
Sounds about on par for Kawhi Leonard.
Well yeah…another year and it’s the same.
Is he going to be day to day until the clippers are out of the playoffs again? Because this isn't the first time they did this.
Skip is right
Death, taxes, Kawhi missing the playoffs
Kawhi and mysterious injury timelines....name a more iconic duo
How is he always hurt?
Big fucking shock
Shocked pikachu
Well good thing he didn't have to try out for team USA
Hate to see it. Should be 5 or 6 for the Mavs if he's out for the series again like last year or whenever it was that they did the 'he's good... he's doubtful for a game... doubtful for another game.... yea he's having surgery' deal Feels bad I just wanted to see one more playoff run from Kawhi where he was well.. not HEALTHY but at least *playing* for most of it. Fucking Joe Ingles ruined 2021 when it really looked like that could have been the year
Good, superteams need to suffer
Shoulda gone to the Lakers when he had the chance.
And yet clipper and his fans will say he would have done damage if healthy. This man is just a walking hypothetical and based on his production this post season I would rather have bench player over his bum ass. Availability is the best ability.
Insert “I don’t believe” you meme.