Paul Pierce finds it unreasonable to compare LeBron James and Kawhi Leonard: "We mention him in the same breath of LeBron, KD"
Paul Pierce has a problem with Kawhi Leonard being compared with LeBron James and Kevin Durant. Leonard is still one of the best players in the world when healthy, but he missed the entire 2021-22 season due to injury.
On the "Ticket & The Truth" podcast, Pierce and Kevin Garnett discussed Leonard's injury history. Pierce thinks it's unfair for someone like Anthony Davis if Leonard is not being criticized for being injury prone.
He pointed out the LA Clippers superstar's number of missed games since the 2017-18 season.
"We don't hold Kawhi accountable enough because him being at the status that he is," Pierce said. "We mention him in the same breath of LeBron, KD when he's at his best, but then how we talk about Anthony Davis not being available. We don't put Kawhi in that group because think about his last four, five years, he's missed about two seasons."
He continued:
"Always out, ain't really put a lot of games together, but we never talk about that. So, I don't know if it's the way he's injured or the way Anthony Davis is injured because he goes up, and maybe it's a leg or a finger."
It's interesting to note that Leonard has not played a full regular season in his career. Leonard's career high is 74 games in the 2016-17 season. "The Klaw" has missed a whopping 212 out of a possible 390 regular season games since the 2017-18 season.
Meanwhile, Anthony Davis missed 120 out of a possible 389 regular games in the same period. Davis has been labeled as injury prone, as there's a truth to it. It might be time for Leonard to also receive that label, especially as he has only played two games this season.
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Kawhi Leonard dealing with stiffness and swelling in his right knee
Kawhi Leonard has played in just two games for the LA Clippers this season. Leonard has only been on the court for 42 minutes, averaging 12.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.5 steals.
Leonard has not played since October 23 against the Phoenix Suns. He has been ruled out due to stiffness and swelling in his surgically repaired right knee. He missed all of last season while recovering from a partially torn ACL suffered in the 2021 postseason.
The Clippers are understandably cautious with Leonard, and they want him to be healthy for the postseason. However, NBA insider Chris Broussard reported that the Clippers fear Leonard's injury is worse than originally thought.
"I've talked with some people in the league about this," Broussard said. "A week ago, the Clippers feared Kawhi had tendinitis. Now, there's a fear that it's worse. I don't know what that means. This is an 8-12 month injury for most players."
He continued:
"It's been 15 months since his injury. I don't know if it's physical, as in there's still a problem with his knee, or if it's mental in that Kawhi has, for the most part, not wanted to play unless he's 110%."
"I've talked to some people around the league. A week ago, the Clippers feared Kawhi had tendinitis. Now, there's a fear that it's worse." — @Chris_Broussard https://t.co/A5od3NMEuH
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