The Lakers beat the Clippers in NBA Cup action on Tuesday night. While the Lakers won their group and clinched a spot in the quarterfinals, the Clippers fell to 5-13 on the season despite the fact that Kawhi Leonard was back in the lineup for the second straight game.
After the 17-point loss, Leonard was asked why the team was struggling to stay afloat this season, despite being much better playing short-handed in previous seasons. Leonard's response raised some eyebrows and he seemed to backtrack when asked a follow-up.
"Just gotta get the right lineups on the court I guess," said Leonard. "You know, get some more talent. Play with better talent. See what happens."
Asked exactly what he meant by "get more talent" Leonard went with more of a stock answer.
"I'm saying like playing better," said Leonard. "Like we all just gotta play better. Make shots. Move the ball a little bit more. Trust one another and just get better."
Leonard will almost certainly insist that he meant the second thing, but he did say the first thing and it's a curious thing for someone to say when they have only played in eight of the team's 18 games. Leonard has always been the guy who the Clippers need to get on the court and Bradley Beal, who they aquired in the offseason, isn't going to be back this year.
So if Leonard wants more talent on the court, that's probably on him to stay healthy. And that's generally a problem. Leonard has missed at least a quarter of seven of his eight seasons.
