Stephen A. Smith: Mavs' Kyrie Irving 'More Reliable' Than Clippers' Kawhi Leonard
The 'load management' topic is always a hot one among NBA media personalities and fans alike. Some believe it’s a necessary evil to keep certain players fresh during an 82-game season, while other believe it serves no real purpose other than depriving fans from seeing their favorite players perform in person.
When it comes to Los Angeles Clippers star Kawhi Leonard, the latter part of that argument looks to be more true than the former. Despite missing 30 regular-season games, Leonard still wasn’t fresh enough to play through what the Clippers labeled as a knee sprain in Thursday night’s Game 3 loss to the Phoenix Suns.
On Friday, ESPN's Stephen A. Smith sounded off on Leonard’s constant absences and even went as far as saying he’d rather depend on Dallas Mavericks star Kyrie Irving in the postseason if he had to chose between the two.
"I would rather have Kyrie Irving because I know that come playoff time, he's going to be ready to play,” Smith said on First Take. “With Kawhi, I don't know when the hell he's going to be available. Believe it or not: Kyrie is more reliable than Kawhi."
Irving has had his fair share of struggles over the years when it comes to staying on the court, whether it’s due to injuries or his own personal reasons. However, he’s not afraid to play through some discomfort, as he proved at the end of this season with the Mavs when he had a nagging plantar fasciitis injury.
As great as Leonard is, the Clippers will never be able to get over the hump if his body can’t hold up — that’s just the hard, simple truth.
Game 4 of the Clippers’ first-round series with the Suns is on Saturday afternoon as L.A. tries to tie things up at 2-2. As of Friday afternoon, Leonard’s status for that one is still up in the air.
Follow Dalton Trigg on Twitter @dalton_trigg.
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