https://www.ocregister.com/2020/12/20/clippers-kawhi-leonard-is-motivated-after-last-seasons-disappointment/“I want to start, I want to get back after it,” Leonard said at the outset of training camp. “It does leave a bad taste in your mouth blowing a 3-1 lead. But I love it. These are things that build the player. It’s the things that I like, the challenge.
“The road of going to a championship is hard. I love the process. We’ll see. We’ll see how strong we are and if we can build from things like this.”
New Clipper Nicolas Batum pointed out recently that Leonard has bounced back before.
“What happened with the Spurs in 2013 (they lost 4-3 in the NBA Finals to Miami), he came back the next year and won the MVP of the Finals and the ring,” Batum said. “And what happened to him in 2018 with the injuries and stuff like that in San Antonio, he came back the next year in Toronto and won the ring as well.
“Proved it twice, so maybe again this year?”
Leonard proved underwhelming in the Clippers’ Game 7 loss in September, when he shot 6 for 22 and failed in that game, and others, to elevate his teammates’ play.
So far this season, Tyronn Lue, the Clippers’ new coach, reports that Leonard looks more comfortable as he’s gone about establishing a tone during the condensed training camp.
“He’s been phenomenal,” Lue said. “He’s been through every practice, even the two-a-days. He’s done a good job of setting the tone and getting his guys to follow his lead … setting an example for the young guys of what he’s trying to do and how he’s trying to lead this team.
“Obviously, we shoulda won, we coulda won,” Leonard said recently. “For me, it is just about this year not skipping any steps. I am definitely motivated. I want to win.”
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