With Kawhi Leonard back in the fold, the Clippers are all out of reasons

No more reasons. 

Whatever takesplace in these playoffs for the LA Clippers, they requirement to own their success or failure. There are no more ‘”what ifs” or “buts.” There’s no finger pointing or asterisks. 

For the veryfirst time because the NBA Bubble 5 years ago, Kawhi Leonard and Paul George are healthy in the postseason, with Leonard returning Tuesday from a nine-game lack duetothefactthat of knee swelling in the Clippers’ 96-93 loss to the Dallas Mavericks in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series.

Without a hobbled superstar on the bench, without a knee injury to blame for their early postseason exits, they’ll lastly get an unwarped peek at themselves in the mirror. 

“I feel excellent about it,” Clippers coach Ty Lue stated. 

Win or lose, the Clippers are going to have to accept this as truth. Perhaps it’s both similarly thrilling and frightening for a franchise that has a lot on the line this offseason, consistingof the future of their Big Two. 

While Leonard concurred to a three-year extension worth up to $152.7 million in January, George has yet to follow match and might endupbeing a complimentary representative this summerseason by decreasing his $48.8 million gamer alternative for the 2024-25 season.

So, this postseason is secret for a franchise that’s attempting to reach their veryfirst NBA Finals in their 53-year history. 

So far, they’ve looked like a group that might make a deep run. They won Game 1 without Leonard on Sunday. Game 2 was less persuading, which isn’t too unexpected thinkingabout Leonard was plainly havingahardtime to discover his legs following not havingactually played in 23 days. 

But the larger takeaway from Game 2 is that the Clippers didn’t program any givenup. 

After falling into a nine-point hole with 1 minute 27 seconds left following a stepback 3-tip from Luka Dončić that motivated him to consistently holler at the crowd, they declined to waive the white flag, cutting their deficit to simply 3 points twotimes, consistingof when George made a 3-tip at the buzzer. 

With Games 3 and 4 in Dallas, the Clippers requirement to readjust to their star gamer rapidly. 

“Kawhi is one of the finest in the world,” stated George, who had 22 points and 4 helps. “He’s going to discover his rhythm. We’re going to discover our rhythm around him.”

As for Leonard, he put the loss on his shoulders. 

“We’ve got to be muchbetter as a system total, and it begins with me,” stated Leonard, who had 15 points on 7-for-17 shooting, 7 rebounds and 4 takes in 35 minutes. “Even if my wind is low, I’ve got to discover a method.”

[2024 NBA Championship odds: Celtics favored for Finals; Nuggets closing in]

After getting Leonard in the offseason in 2019 and then trading for George, it appeared as though the Clippers might be genuine competitors. But that hasn’t emerged. They blew a 3-1 series lead in the 2nd round of the playoffs versus Denver in 2020, and they’ve consideringthat hadahardtime with injuries.

In 2021, Leonard suffered a torn ACL in the playoffs and the Clippers went on to lose to the Phoenix Suns in their veryfirst Western Conference Finals look. Leonard missedouton the following season and the Clippers missedouton the playoffs. Last year, the Clippers were gotridof in the veryfirst round, with George missingouton the series and Leonard just playing in 2 videogames since of injuries. 

Now, everybody is healthy. Or as healthy as they’re going to get. Not to pointout, the Clippers obtained 2 more Hall of Famers in Russell Westbrook last season and James Harden in October. 

So, no more reasons. 

Either the Clippers will fulfill expectations this time around. Or they’ll fall brief. 

Either method, they’ll have no one to point to other than their own reflection.

Melissa Rohlin is an NBA author for FOX Sports. She formerly covered the league for Sports Illustrated, the Los Angeles Times, the Bay Area News Group and the San Antonio Express-News. Follow her on Twitter @melissarohlin.