LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS MEDIA CONFERENCE

August 16, 2020

Kawhi Leonard

Press Conference

Q. Kawhi, just wanted to see -- Luka Doncic was talking about you guys being physical defenders. Obviously that's something you've done your whole career. How do you share that with your teammates?

KAWHI LEONARD: I think we already -- they're already a group of guys that have pretty much played physical, wanted to play defense. But it's just a part of winning. We've got to play defense to win games, can't just let guys score every possession down the court. So I guess it's just a collective mindset of wanting to win.

Q. Paul said yesterday that in order to try to expedite the chemistry and not lose time in the pandemic, he and you got together a couple times and visited with each other. I was wondering, what did you guys do, what did you accomplish, and how has that helped you two entering the Playoffs?

KAWHI LEONARD: We pretty much just went to the gym. When we were able to get to the gym, went to the gym, did shots, talked to each other, know what I mean, to see what we thought worked in games. You know, just talking about personal life, things like that. Just getting to know one another. You know, that to just build a long way from there, just getting comfortable with talking with someone. You could tell them what they're not doing or what they are doing well.

That's it really pretty much.

Q. This is your first NBA playoff experience in the bubble, so how does it feel different?

KAWHI LEONARD: Just you're not on the road, you're not home, obviously. Family members aren't around. You know, you're not seeing other cities. That's it.

Q. What do you think you got out of these games as a team? Doc was talking about a lot of teams had changed and came in and were different than they were during the regular season. What do you think your team got out of these preliminary games?

KAWHI LEONARD: Really just team experience, really. Being able to play eight games, see what works for us, and going into these Playoffs, obviously we're around each other a lot more. That's it. Just able to somewhat get a team bond going on and just focusing on these Playoffs, taking those eight games one game at a time. Our team was different with guys in and out, but that's what it is for me.

Q. Just curious, throughout the hiatus and the NBA suspension, what were your thoughts on this season potentially being canceled? Obviously there was a lot of talk about whether we didn't know whether the season would continue. Did that enter into your mind considering for a lot of guys this was their best opportunity for a championship?

KAWHI LEONARD: Yeah. I mean, if you're not able to see what the outcome is, and we pretty much played 70 percent of the season and the Playoffs were around the corner, this definitely was a lost opportunity for everyone, even for guys that were rookies, just being able to get that experience of a full NBA season. So yeah, that definitely crept into my mind.

But we're here now.

Q. How much of a challenge is Porzingis as a match-up problem, and is that a situation where you just have to try multiple looks and give him multiple defenders until you figure out what works?

KAWHI LEONARD: Yeah, you know, he's, what, seven-something, seven-two, seven-foot, can shoot the ball, can dribble, make plays out of the post, even from that three-point line by dribble driving. You've just got to keep a high hand up and try to challenge his shots. He's very skilled.