It’s pretty obvious when you look at how many times the guy has either stayed healthy or gotten healthy for the playoffs just to be sidelined at the worst possible time. Hell, he tried to play on one leg a couple seasons ago until he was forced to sit.

I think there was a period between last year in San Antonio and Toronto were Kawhi actively tanked his game played for preserving himself.

²⁰¹⁷⁄₁₈ says hi

He was hobbled by the end of the 2019 finals. It’s just that the raptors were too stacked

Van vleet was their fifth option. Norm Powell second guy off the bench lmao

Anybody with half a brain knows this, imo. The man has had 2 major surgeries in the last 5 years and a chronic, degenerative condition he has had to manage for close to a decade now, but continues to play at a high level even while being on the older side.

Say what you will about him chasing the bag under the table but its abundantly clear the man loves basketball. So many other guys with similar injury histories or age bracket are either outta the league, retired early, or washed (Demarcus Cousins, Klay Thompson, Westbrook, etc).

I guess the ones who remember he has a degenerative knee understand.

Nothing anybody can do.

I agree, I don’t think Kawhi is lazy or whatever but he seems to really care about money. If Uncle Dennis or him is aspiring towards a payment, then I can certainly see him waiting out a couple of games until the money comes through.

Ball don’t lie. It rolls.

A similar one is from the book about the Walton-era Blazers, the breaks of the game

That’s just how the cookie rolls

Real fans are realistic about this. No one is expecting Cade Cunningham to play with a partially collapsed lung. We just don’t want guys taking a night off to avoid playing three times in one week.

Reread his first sentence

Jordan millers legit though

I will hear no disrespect for Suns legend Amir Coffey

And they got rid of Harden and Zubac this year lol

Yeah, but he also didn’t cry about missing on some awards.

On pace to play 65+ games this season and probably make All-NBA First Team so the rule has worked! The stars are out there playing!

The Clippers FO/medical team has always been overly cautious with him. And as long as you could qualify for these contract-affecting awards while playing 45-50 games that was the maximum threshold they were gonna make sure he met. He’d appear in no more than 45-50 appearances even if healthy. Team decision. Now that it’s 65, he’s probably going to finish the season playing in 66 because, as the team, you won’t forbid your player from chasing accolades.

Street clothes doesn’t work for finals mvps