Load Management: Why it’s necessary for Kawhi Leonard and the Clippers
By Joey Linn
How load management benefits the Clippers:
If it was not a medical necessity that Kawhi Leonard carefully manage his workload, the Clippers may still have opted to go the same route they are currently on. The reason for this is because load management, in the particular case of the Clippers, has long lasting benefits that prioritize the one goal of an NBA Championship.
When staring directly at the record of the Clippers, who sit at 22-10 after Sunday’s loss to OKC, it is easy to use load management as the scapegoat for the winnable losses in the right hand column. While such a claim may be factually correct, as seven of their ten losses have come without one or both of their superstars, there is much more to their record than initially perceived.
The Clippers have yet to play a single game at full strength. Of their 32 games played, none of them have come with the entire roster. This plays a pivotal role in the impact that load management has on the overall record, considering it is has yet to be just Kawhi who had missed a game.
A team’s record in December should be taken with a grain of salt regardless of their health situation, but for the Clippers that is even more so the case.
Kawhi has missed nine games this season, Paul George has missed 11, Patrick Beverley has missed five, Lou Williams has missed a pair, JaMychal Green has missed nine, and sharp-shooting sophomore Landry Shamet has missed 17. Despite all of that, the Clippers currently sit at 22-10 and are tied for 2nd place in the Western Conference.
While 22-10 is good for 2nd in the West, the Clippers are clearly much better than their record indicates. Of the ten losses, only three have come with both Kawhi Leonard and Paul George in the lineup.
To go along with that, Basketball Reference determined the Clippers have played the 4th most difficult schedule in all of the NBA this season. Considering the lack of health and difficulty of schedule, believing the Clippers are not far better than their record portrays would be absurd.
What does this have to do with load management? Simply stated, the Clippers can afford to do it. They sit in a tie for 2nd place despite having played the league’s 4th most difficult schedule without multiple of their top players.
The same Basketball Reference site that determined the Clippers to have played the 4th hardest schedule to this point, has the Clippers with the easiest remaining schedule from here on out.
To add to the optimism going forward for the Clippers, Kawhi’s load management has already seen the majority of its use. Through 32 games, the Clippers have played seven back to backs. In the remaining 50 games, there are only five back to backs to be played.
The Clippers have been able to manage Kawhi’s workload and keep a hold on the 2nd seed in the West, with the league’s 4th toughest schedule, the league’s 2nd most back to backs, and a plethora of games missed from their top-tier talent. Once again, to assume the Clippers are going anywhere from here other than up, would be absurd.