Listen to Colin Cowherd explain why the success of LeBron James’ streaking Los Angeles Lakers has made the Los Angeles Clippers start to feel some early season pressure with Kawhi Leonard’s mysterious health hiatus.
The Clippers’ landing of Kawhi and Paul George in the offseason was supposed to be the planting of their flag in the middle of Los Angeles for the next decade, but Colin thinks there is a bit of tension emoting out of owner Steve Ballmer and the fan base as they see how well the Lakers are playing, and in the process, stealing away all of the NBA headlines for the first month of the season.
Colin says the Clippers may end up the best team in the NBA come June, as Leonard has obviously proven to be a successful recipient of the infamously termed ‘load management’, but Colin also thinks part of the deal to go out and get Leonard and PG-13 was to yank some of the city’s market share from the Lakers, as one of the NBA’s most glamorous franchises has obviously had a strange-hold on the city's fan support over a Clippers franchise that had a 20+ year run as the worst franchise in North American sports.
Check out the video above as Colin thinks all those warm and fuzzy feelings from Clipper Nation that began in the summer are starting to devolve into envy and angst at a Lakers team surging in the standings, and doing so with their star players ON the court every night.