Kawhi Leonard Says Clippers’ Issues ‘Between Our Ears’ After Win vs. Pistons

Andrew PetersFebruary 3, 2024

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Despite winning 15 of their last 18 games, Kawhi Leonard believes the Los Angeles Clippers still have a lot to improve on before the end of the regular season.

According to Clutch Points’ Tomer Azarly, Leonard held the Clippers accountable after a win over the Detroit Pistons on Friday, saying that the team still has some issues to resolve.

“It’s between our ears. Tonight, we were terrible on our defensive game,” Leonard said. “I feel like we’ve been running our games off of talent, even our offensive game. It’s a lot of slow pace, and it starts with our defense. We have to see who we want to be and start setting goals for ourselves. I feel like these last few games have been based on talent, and we need to be focused on execution.”

In the 136-125 win on Friday night, Leonard led the way with 33 points. Los Angeles is currently on a seven-game road trip and it has won four of five games away from home so far during the stint.

With the recent hot streak, the Clippers have jumped to third place in the Western Conference, sitting at 32-15 on the year with the trio of Leonard, Paul George and James Harden leading the way. Leonard is putting up 23.9 points per game, George is averaging 23 points per game and Harden is adding 17.2 points per game.

While Los Angeles has been one of the hottest teams in the NBA to start the new year, Leonard’s calls for the Clippers to improve are valid given their playoff struggles. Since Leonard and George teamed up in Los Angeles in 2019, the Clippers have reached the conference finals just once — a disappointing mark given the star power on the roster. Last year, the Clippers were eliminated by the Phoenix Suns in the first round in five games, a year after they missed the playoffs entirely in 2022.

Now with a third star on the roster in Harden, as well as Russell Westbrook playing a valuable role off the bench, the Clippers are looking to reach the Finals for the first time in franchise history.

As Leonard said, the Clippers have issues “between the ears” to fix if they want to reach that goal.