As Suns-Clippers Potentially Ends, All Eyes Shift to Kawhi Leonard

PHOENIX -- We're just a hours away from Game 5 between the Phoenix Suns and Los Angeles Clippers, a potential elimination game that could see the series end in 4-1 favor of Phoenix.

That wouldn't have been a surprising outcome prior to the start of the series, given Phoenix's star power and lofty expectations to emerge out of the West.

Should the Suns wrap their business up tonight, there will be plenty of talking points.

The obvious begins with the performance of Kevin Durant and Devin Booker, two starts that played extensive minutes and looked every bit of important as the Suns needed them to be in this series.

The arrival of Cam Payne tonight brings some hope that Phoenix's bench can give the team any life when the starters aren't on the floor. His ability to command the offense in absence of Chris Paul on top of his energy makes him a key ingredient for coach Monty Williams. Torrey Craig has played well after getting the starting nod over Josh Okogie, too.

For the Clippers, they've played extremely hard and haven't let any moments of ease become available for the Suns despite missing multiple stars in the starting lineup. Russell Westbrook's postseason emergence has made fans reminisce on his MVP days, and perhaps this is a springboard for his future.

Yet whether the series concludes tonight or later this week, there will be a heavy focus on the one and only Kawhi Leonard.

Leonard is known as one of the best two-way players in the game today. His no-nonsense approach to the game on top of his talent has made him an attractive talent throughout his career, whether that be San Antonio, Toronto or now Los Angeles.

Yet there's been a stigma surrounding Leonard and his lack of availability with the team. Paul George recruited him to win championships with the Clippers - but the two have rarely shared the court together through the years:

By 2025 the Clippers would have paid PG and Kawhi $484M

They have played in ONLY 24 playoff games together and ONLY 118 games together out of the possible 390 total Clipper games in that time span (30.2% of games) pic.twitter.com/Ifxf130420
— Jacob (@Jacobtheclipper) April 25, 2023

In Game 1 against Phoenix, Leonard led all scorers with 38 points. He fired back in Game 2 with 31 points. eight rebounds and seven assists.

Yet almost mysteriously, Leonard was ruled out ahead of Game 3 with the series tied 1-1 and heading back home to LA.

ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowksi later reported Leonard suffered a right knee sprain in Game 1 and played through the pain in Game 2. There were also reports of the swelling and mobility of the knee being too much for Leonard to operate on.

It's been exactly a week since we've seen Leonard in action, and the Clippers have gone from potentially putting the Suns on upset watch to playing on the road with a 3-1 series deficit.

Their season could very well end tonight, and the Clippers could possibly (again) have nothing to show for their efforts this year.

Talk will still feature around Leonard - who has played 60 or more games just once in the last five seasons - and his "load management" the Clippers have been known to instill to protect him.

Leonard's coach in Tyronn Lue quickly came to his defense after he was ruled out ahead of tonight.

"He's definitely hurt. Like this is not load management where he's taking time off. He's shown in his past that he's played through injuries in the playoffs. If it's something that he can't play through, then it has to be pretty serious," he said.

"We're not talking about he's sitting out because of load management or he's tired or nothing like that. It's an actual thing. What the outside is saying, who cares."

At some point within the next five days, this series will end. The winner will eventually move on to play the winner of the Denver-Minnesota series, and the loser will have plenty to figure out in order to make the jump next season.

Teams who are up 3-1 go on to win the series 95% of the time - and the odds look good for Phoenix tonight.

There will be plenty to celebrate for the Suns when and if they do advance, but it feels like most storylines surrounding this series will revert back to Leonard and his absence. Perhaps because the Clippers played so well with him in the lineup, or perhaps because even without him on the floor Los Angeles still put up a respectable effort.

It's difficult to pin blame on Leonard - surely he wants to be out there with his team and win another championship to add to his resume.

Yet there's always been a "what if" mystique that has followed the Clippers dating back to their Lob City days, and another early playoff exit will stir that pot even more. Ask San Antonio Spurs fans how they feel about Leonard and they'll evaluate this series before telling you not much has changed.

Regardless, there will be more questions than ever surrounding the Clippers. And Leonard. And Paul George. And what else needs to happen for Los Angeles to fix whatever the issue is and move on.