Clippers Player Opens Up About Team's Injury Struggles
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When Paul George suffered a knee sprain towards the end of the 2022-23 regular season, the LA Clippers knew there was a strong possibility that they would be without their star forward entering the postseason. Drawing a matchup with the Phoenix Suns, LA did indeed enter the postseason without George, but they won the series opener in Phoenix anyways.
Kawhi Leonard went for 38 PTS, 5 AST, and 5 REB in that Game 1 victory, but suffered a knee injury that was later revealed to be a meniscus tear. Leonard played through the injury in Game 2, dropping 31 PTS, 8 REB, and 7 AST, but did not play again as the Clippers went on to lose in five games.
During a recent podcast episode, Clippers guard Terance Mann spoke on this development, saying the Clippers had begun finding a rhythm before Paul George went down, and then even after he went down - which was evident by their Game 1 victory in Phoenix.
"I think we did figure it out towards the end," Mann said of the Clippers getting on track after their losing streak following the All-Star break. "And then Paul George got hurt. So that was tough. Then we started to figure it out again in the playoffs. We won the first game vs. Phoenix, we thought we had them figured out, then Kawhi went down and it was tough."
This has unfortunately been a recurring theme for this iteration of the Clippers, as three of the four years of the Kawhi Leonard and Paul George era have ended with one or both of them sidelined due to injury. Even without George, the Clippers felt they were finding a rhythm, but then Leonard went down as well.
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