The Clippers are only one loss away from joining their city rivals, Lakers, at home. Failing to protect their home court against the Mavs in Game 5, the Clippers fell behind (2-3) in the series yesterday, and could face elimination in enemy territory tomorrow. In desperate need of their superstar Kawhi Leonard to return healthy and save their season, the Clippers received a piece of heartbreaking news about his availability ahead of Game 6.

Still not fully recovered from the knee inflammation, the latest update reveals Kawhi is set to miss tomorrow’s game, his third straight of this series. On top of that, Terence Mann is also questionable to play because of a right leg contusion. That raises major concerns for Ty Lue and his squad as they will need to make massive adjustments to hopefully keep Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving from ending their season tomorrow.

Out for quite some time during the tail end of the regular season and the first game of the series against Dallas, Kawhi tried to make a successful comeback in Game 2 last week. But it did not help the Clippers at all because Kawhi was not looking his best and scored only fifteen points while missing all of his attempts from the three-point line. Moreover, the Clippers lost that night. Blaming the underwhelming performance on rust, many believed Kawhi would be better in Game 3. But his performance got even worse as he scored only nine points while spending only 25 minutes on the court. Clearly, he was struggling from the injury and wasn’t ready to play.

Even Ty Lue couldn’t give a timeline on Kawhi’s return, “Can’t tell you a timeline, I wish I had a crystal ball, it will just basically… until he can show that he can make all the movements that he needs to make, that’s when he’ll come back. That will be the timeframe.” That only raises one question.

Can the Clippers avoid elimination in Kawhi Leonard’s absence?

Despite not having Kawhi on the court for three of the five games, the Clippers somehow managed to win two games in the series, making it competitive. And both those wins came in Kawhi’s absence, showing that they know how to beat Dallas without him. The answer might lie in James Harden and Paul George’s performance. By going off for 28 points in Game 1, Harden shocked everyone by showing glimpses of his MVP form and leading the Clippers to victory. Even Paul George went into ‘Playoff P’ mode by adding 22 points to the board.

However, when Kawhi returned, PG and Harden deferred a lot to the two-time Champion and lost their touch from Game 1. Then, after Kawhi was ruled out the second time in the series, PG and Harden returned to their old ways and combined for 66 points in Game 4, tying the series at 2-2. Unfortunately, the Mavs solved that puzzle in the last game, limiting Harden to only seven points and Paul to fifteen.

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Regardless, with their season on the line tomorrow, Harden and George might have to take matters into their own hands again and give the Clippers a fighting chance by forcing Game 7. If somehow, they can win tomorrow, then playing the final game at home will give the Clippers a massive advantage.

Do you think the Clippers can sneak a win tomorrow in Dallas?