David J. Phillip/Associated Press
HOUSTON — The Los Angeles Clippers have 71 games to go before the playoffs after Wednesday night’s fourth-quarter unraveling against the Houston Rockets.
The Clippers also have 10 more sets of back-to-back games to get through, even after Thursday’s visit to New Orleans. Translation: Kawhi Leonard is likely to sit out at least 10 more games because of the Clippers’ well-chronicled determination to prevent him from playing on consecutive nights for precautionary health reasons.
We present you with all that math to explain why Paul George, who is scheduled to make his Clippers debut on Thursday night against the Pelicans, can only share the floor with his fellow All-Star Leonard in a maximum of 60 games before their first post-season run together.