Updated January 8th, 2020 at 13:38 IST
Damian Lillard defends Clippers' load management of Kawhi Leonard amidst fan criticism
Portland Trail Blazers' Damian Lillard defends Los Angeles Lakers load management of Kawhi Leonard. Load management has been a controversial topic this season.
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Portland Trail Blazers' Damian Lillard seems to be a supporter of rivals Los Angeles Clippers' load management policies. Load management has been given as the major reason for some top players missing out on regular-season games. Sometimes, NBA fans mock players for using it as an excuse in order to save their body for the playoffs. In a recent interview with a sports channel, Damian Lillard spoke about load management and Clippers star Kawhi Leonard.
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NBA 2019-20: Damian Lillard defends Los Angeles Clippers' load management of Kawhi Leonard
According to Damian Lillard, one plays when they love to play. Lillard insisted that Leonard must not focus on the criticism he receives by fans over skipping games to avoid injury. Lillard also opined that Leonard is managing his games as well as he can with respect to any injury he must be suffering from.
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NBA spokesman Mike Bass on Kawhi Leonard: "Kawhi Leonard is not a healthy player under the league's resting policy, and, as such, is listed as managing a knee injury in the LA Clippers injury report. The league office, in consultation with the NBA's director of sports medicine.."
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn)
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Kawhi Leonard has always played less than 74 games in one NBA season. Damian Lillard, on the other hand, has always played more than 73. NBA reports believe he is one of the most durable NBA players with few injuries in his 7-year-old NBA career. Leonard himself has courted controversy by sitting out for multiple games this season due to load management and the league also fined the Clippers for the same. While some are okay with load management, many fans are not happy with the concept. NBA legends Michael Jordan and LeBron James have also criticized load management in the past.
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Published January 8th, 2020 at 13:38 IST