The Los Angeles Clippers seem to be heating up at the perfect time, but Stephen A. Smith is far from convinced that they are a legitimate contender. He has a very simple, albeit harsh, reason for that.

Los Angeles Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard. Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

During Wednesday morning’s edition of “First Take” on ESPN, Smith said he would not be getting excited about seven wins in the last eight games if he were a Clippers fan.

That is because he believes it is only a matter of time before Kawhi Leonard will be sidelined with another injury.

“The reason I’m not sold on the Clippers is because I’m just looking at my watch and I’m just looking at the dates in the calendar and I’m just waiting for Kawhi Leonard to get hurt, that’s all,” Smith said.

“I know that come playoff time, he’s not gonna be available. … This is a man that went into a playoff series against the Phoenix Suns, dropped 38, walked off the court, looked perfectly fine, and at 4 o’clock the next day be like, ‘He’s out for the year.’

What? What happened?”

Smith was referring to the playoffs two years ago, when Leonard looked dominant in the first two games of the Western Conference quarterfinals against the Suns.

Leonard had 38 points in Game 1 and 31 in Game 2, but he was ruled out for Game 3 with a sprained knee. He did not make another playoff appearance that season.

Leonard made his 2024-25 debut on Jan. 4. He has slowly ramped up his workload and currently looks as healthy as he has in a while. The six-time All-Star had 33 points, seven rebounds and four assists in a 132-119 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday.

A healthy Leonard is obviously the key to success for the Clippers. The 33-year-old has not been available in a lot of big moments since he arrived in L.A. Though there are few people who would put it more bluntly than he did, Smith was in some ways just stating the obvious.