Recently, ESPN's First Take program, celebrity A-Smith made another big news.
When it came to whether the Clippers should break up the Cayenne combination, A-Smith was on full fire and spent a full 154 seconds spraying Leonard, which is so much that we excerpt it.
A-Smith: "I'm tired of the analysts who keep praising Leonard, I'm really fed up with you guys, Leonard is the worst superstar, it's fitting to say he's a superstar because he's a superstar when he's healthy, but we're not talking about his ability when he's healthy, he's a two-time FMVP, but that's not what we're talking about..."
"He's the worst superstar in sports history that I know, he's a nightmare, and he's only played 40.3 games, 40.3 games a year, 40.3 games, and that's been the last year, he's played 68 games, and then what? He's not playing again..."
"Did you know that Leonard missed 15 of the last 19 playoff games, and you know that the Clippers made it to the Western Conference finals after he got injured, and you know that the Clippers haven't won a series since then..."
"I have to admit that I'm a little jealous of him (A-Smith and the two hosts laughed when it comes to this), I don't know what's going on, no matter how long he's absent, the management has sent him a contract, I don't know what's going on, when it's time to sign the contract, he suddenly can play again, I don't know what's going on, after signing the contract, when you look for him everywhere, he can't play again..."
"I'm really disgusted by him, he didn't contribute to his team, he didn't contribute to the NBA promotion, nothing, that's what he did, you look at his sneaker commercial, he got a kid to talk in the ad because he didn't want to talk..."
At this point, another show partner, Molly, stepped forward and called a halt to A-Smith, and then A-Smith didn't plan to stop, continuing: "I'm telling you, here's the truth, Molly, I'm not exaggerating at all. ”
First of all, I have to sigh that A-Smith does have a set of spray people, and after watching it, it feels like it is not for nothing that he can get an annual salary of tens of millions on ESPN, and the effect of the show is simply explosive.
Of course, what he said about Leonard is indeed worth thinking about.
This season, Leonard delivered his healthiest season since joining the Clippers, playing in 68 games, averaging 23.7 points, 6.1 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.6 steals per game, shooting 52.5%/41.7%/88.5% from three, and 62.6% from the field.
With attendance, good stats, and a good team record, Leonard was named to the All-Star Second Team, the second time he has been named to the All-NBA Team since 2021.
There are many people who question the gold content of this second team, and I personally feel that there is not much wrong with Leonard's selection, and the data can also reflect his value, this season's regular season:
- When Leonard is on the floor, the Clippers outscore their opponents by 8.2 points per 100 possessions
-- With Leonard not on the floor, the Clippers are losing by 3.7 points per 100 possessions
But, as A. Smith said, Leonard's problem is never when he's healthy, it's that he's just too unhealthy.
At the end of the season, Leonard was absent due to inflammation of his right knee, and many fans thought that Leonard had reached the target at the time, so he deliberately rested, but he didn't expect that after the playoffs began, Leonard still couldn't play until the second game;
The embarrassing thing is that Leonard didn't play, the Clippers won, Leonard came back, and the Clippers lost, the first four games, the Clippers and the Mavericks played 2-2, of which Leonard played 2 games and lost all of them, and his personal performance was also very bad, adding up to a total of 11 of 24, scoring 24 points, and the offensive state was obviously wrong.
After G4, the Clippers did not continue to let Leonard play, and finally lost two games in a row.
After the game, the Clippers commented on Leonard: "I don't know what else the Clippers can do with Leonard, it's his healthiest year since he joined, playing 68 games in the regular season... From now on, it doesn't seem to matter whether he's doing a good job of load management or staying healthy throughout the regular season. ”
This year's playoffs, or all the historical playoffs, have proved that only healthy teams can have the last laugh, and healthy Leonard certainly has the quality, but what's the use of not being able to stay healthy in the playoffs?
One poignant statistic is that since the 2021 playoff reimbursement, Leonard has only played four games in the playoffs in the past three years, less than Cousins, who has been away from the NBA for two years (five).
And, Leonard's way of dealing with injuries is also worth thinking about, from the end of the season to the playoffs, not to mention the fans, even his teammates and coaches don't know how Leonard is injured and whether he can come back, this is no longer a "smoke bomb", and it can even affect the stability of the locker room, and the former Spurs locker room has been thunderous because of this.
It is worth mentioning that Leonard has also completed a contract extension with the Clippers, and the two sides have reached a three-year $152.4 million early contract extension this season.
But what's the point if you can't play from April to June, if you can't play in the playoffs? That's the goal of all operations. ”
Every season that belongs to the Clippers seems to be like this, the offseason is mighty, shouting about next year's healthy championship, a dozen in the regular season, it seems to be okay, there is really a possibility of winning the championship, but when it comes to the playoffs, this injury and that injury, and then another year of offseason, repeating the plot again - I admire Ballmer, it's been a few years, and patience is really okay.
It needs to be said that Leonard will be 33 years old in less than a month, and the older he gets, the more he will get injured and the state will only get worse and worse, and Harden and George are both 34 years old, even if the two are willing to renew their contracts, how long can this big three remain competitive?
Take a look at the pattern of the West this year, the teams that enter the second round, the Nuggets can still compete for the championship as long as they have Jokic, the young Thunder, Timberwolves, and Mavericks are all rising, and next season, even if they are healthy, is it certain that they can beat them? The answer may not be, this clipper may be able to dismantle it.