Kawhi Leonard: Clippers Aren't 'Playing at a Championship Level' Despite Win vs. Suns
Los Angeles Clippers star Kawhi Leonard believes the team has plenty of work to do before it truly establishes itself as a championship contender.
According to Andrew Greif of the Los Angeles Times, Leonard said the following about the Clippers' form and where they need to be after Thursday's 116-107 road win over the Phoenix Suns: "We still got to get better. I don't think we're playing at a championship level yet, but we're gradually getting better and we got to keep getting better."
When asked precisely what the Clips need to do in order to enter the championship conversation, Leonard added: "We'll see when it happens. It's a feel that you have. It's hard to explain."
Entering the 2022-23 season, the Clippers were thought to be among the top contenders in the Western Conference, provided Leonard and Paul George could stay healthy.
While both players have missed time this season, they both appear healthy right now, and the Clippers undoubtedly need them to stay that way down the stretch and into the playoffs.
L.A. was also active at the trade deadline, shuffling around the supporting cast by acquiring Eric Gordon, Bones Hyland and Mason Plumlee while parting ways with Reggie Jackson, John Wall and Luke Kennard.
The tweaks have seemingly worked well so far, as head coach Ty Lue's team has won two in a row over a pair of other Western Conference contenders in the Golden State Warriors and Suns.
It is important to note, however, that each of their past two opponents were without their best player, as Stephen Curry was out for the Warriors and Kevin Durant has yet to debut with the Suns since Phoenix acquired him from the Brooklyn Nets.
The two wins were key for the Clippers, though, as they are fourth in the Western Conference at the All-Star break with a 33-28 record, just one game behind the Sacramento Kings for third place.
L.A. is nine games behind the first-place Denver Nuggets and four games behind the second-place Memphis Grizzlies, but the rest of the conference is fairly bunched together, lending the Clippers a golden opportunity.
The Clippers were far from perfect in Thursday's win over the Suns, and Leonard himself had an uncharacteristically tough game. He finished with just 16 points on 5-of-18 shooting, including 0-of-5 shooting from beyond the arc, to go along with nine rebounds and four assists.
Los Angeles also turned the ball over 14 times, but it made 25 of its 27 free-throw attempts as a team and shot just under 50 percent from the field at 48.8 percent.
The Clippers have a chance to be a special team when Leonard, George and Co. are firing on all cylinders, so there is little doubt that Kawhi is right about there being room for improvement.
There is also no question that the Clippers will have to take their game to the next level if they want to beat teams like the Nikola Jokić-led Nuggets and Ja Morant-led Grizzlies come playoff time, not to mention the expected rise of teams like the Suns and Warriors when their stars return.
