NBA WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: CLIPPERS VS. SUNS

June 21, 2021

Luke Kennard

LA Clippers

Practice Day

Q. Zu, Ty and Reggie were talking about how engaged Kawhi has been, talking with you guys and staying involved with the strategies, so he knows what he's talking about what he talks to you guys. What is the communication like with Kawhi with the players and when do you hear from him and what does he usually kind of say or what's his insight?

LUKE KENNARD: Yeah, you know, obviously we miss Kawhi a lot on the floor. He's such a huge presence for us, obviously one of the best players in the NBA. It stinks that he's not out there with us.

But like you guys mentioned and like the other guys mentioned, he's behind the scenes. He's always working and always talking to us, sending us texts. I know when we were in L.A., you know, he's in the huddles, in the locker room. At halftime, he's just always involved. Always want to make his voice heard and he talks. He's our leader. He's our guy. Obviously he's doing everything he can right now to get healthy.

But yeah, like everybody else said, he's behind the scenes making sure that we're staying ready and staying locked in on what we need to do, and he believes in us just like everybody believes in each other. We definitely listen when he talks to us.

Q. And with Marcus banged up, people might not see this as much, but how key is he to the defensive strategies that you guys do as far as being able to switch on almost every position?

LUKE KENNARD: Yeah, you know, it's big. It's big. Marcus has done a great job all year. I feel like he's gotten even better as the year went on. I just know with him, we've been throwing different things at him defensively, different coverages and switching but he's embraced it. He's done a great job of embracing that role and being a key defensive guy for us. He's a physical defender and that's what we need, especially in the playoffs and this late in the playoffs. He brings a physicality to the game that helps us out a lot.

So hopefully he's good to go and we'll see what he can do. But yeah, we definitely need him out there.

Q. You've had some pretty huge moments in these playoffs, especially Game 7 against the Mavericks. Is there anything you've learned about yourself throughout this playoff run that you didn't know before getting significant minutes?

LUKE KENNARD: I mean, nothing too new. I think for me, it's just I've got to be ready to shoot at all times. I know I'm a really good shooter. I feel like I'm one of the best shooters in this league and for me it's just creating space, creating separation to get my shots and just being ready to shoot the ball. That's my role and any time I'm out there, that's kind of my mentality. Staying ready to shoot. We've got guys that will make plays and can pass the ball really well. So it's just staying ready.