'Just putting money over health right now' Kawhi Leonard disses NBA's All-Star Game plans after LA Clippers' loss to Boston Celtics

A late mistake from Kawhi Leonard allowed the Boston Celtics to emerge as winners against the LA Clippers at the Staples Center. Kemba Walker hit a mid-range jumper after an emphatic steal from Jayson Tatum and the Celtics held on to win 119-115. Tatum registered 34 points and 7 rebounds while Walker produced 24 points and 4 assists in what is the latter's best scoring performance since returning from injury.

Speaking after the game, Kemba Walker lauded his Boston Celtics teammates and coaching staff for being patient as he returned from his injury. Meanwhile, Kawhi Leonard expressed concern about the scheduling of the NBA All-Star Game. The league is reportedly planning to host the NBA All-Star Game on 7th March 2021, much to the irk of several players.

Kawhi Leonard is not happy with the scheduling of the All-Star Game.

Kawhi Leonard joins LeBron James to express frustration over NBA's decision to hold an All-Star Game

Speaking after the match, Kawhi Leonard agreed with recent NBA players’ comments regarding the All-Star Game and suggested that the NBA has chosen “money over health”.

"It is what it is. We all know why we're playing it. It's money on the line. It's opportunity to make more money. Just putting money over health right now, pretty much."

Kawhi Leonard on playing the All-Star Game. pic.twitter.com/cjy7oUTxGV
— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) February 6, 2021

Kawhi Leonard joins a growing list of players who have admitted their frustration over the jam-packed schedule that the 2020-21 NBA season has followed until now.

Coming back to the game, the LA Clippers were leading by a point with less than 30 seconds left on the clock. A sloppy pass by Kawhi Leonard was grabbed by Jayson Tatum and Kemba Walker finished the play with a mid-range jumper. It became a fouling game from there and the Boston Celtics held on to win.

back 🆙

RT to vote for @KembaWalker #NBAAllStar pic.twitter.com/SIbH4EfpYH
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) February 6, 2021

Needless to say, Walker was in good spirits after the game as he talked about how the past few weeks had been frustrating. He said:

“I was trying to get to my spot, just tried to make a play for my team. You know, Jayson here made a mistake, but he didn’t give up. He stayed with the play. I just wanted to be aggressive and make a play. I was able to get a big basket.”

This is the first time in six seasons that Kemba Walker has a field goal percentage of less than 40%, something that is bound to improve as the season progresses. Speaking about the Celtics’ improved defense since the third quarter, Kemba Walker said the following:

“We turned it up a notch, and had fun while doing it. That’s who we are. We are competitiors. We got to continue to grow as a team, and we will.”