Not having Kawhi Leonard hurts the LA Clippers in many ways

Obviously not having Kawhi Leonard is going to hurt the Clippers, but it seems like something other than his presence is missing on this Clippers team. Paul George had 26 points and Reggie Jackson had 19 points, but other than these two guys, it seemed like Los Angeles was “rolling the dice” in terms of where they would get their production. 

Marcus Morris looked like he wanted to be that “third guy” to step up, but at times it did seem like he was bothered by that knee injury he suffered in Game 1 against the Suns and other than him, nobody else really seemed to be aggressive and attack the Suns. 

Los Angeles settled for too many three-point shots in key moments of this game, resulting in the Suns regaining momentum when the Clippers could have potentially opened up a lead in the fourth quarter. 

Ivica Zubac, Luke Kennard and even Patrick Beverley at times were all great, but this team does not seem to have many ways to beat a team without Kawhi Leonard, especially the Phoenix Suns. In this series, the Suns have Devin Booker, Deandre Ayton, Cameron Payne and at times, they can get 10+ points from Jae Crowder, Mikal Bridges and even guys like Cameron Johnson and Dario Saric like they did in Game 2. 

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Not to mention, they have Chris Paul getting ready and soon to return from health protocols, so the Clippers are really going to need someone to step up in these next two games in Los Angeles.

The Suns are such a well balanced team that if they are not going to have Kawhi Leonard back, then somebody else needs to step up on this Clippers’ roster and be a 14+ point threat each game from here on out next to Paul George and Reggie Jackson.