Despite the seemingly interminable discussion surrounding Kawhi Leonard not playing (i.e. load management), he is still a supreme talent, and when he plays, the LA Clippers are one of the most threatening teams in the NBA.

On Friday night, the Clippers faced off against Leonard’s former team, the San Antonio Spurs, and the Spurs got the best of him – winning by a final score of 107 to 97.

Though the Clippers lost, Leonard remained an impervious bulwark when it comes to emotional response, as he claimed the Spurs game was just “a normal away game:”

Leonard’s ice-cold demeanor is what makes him an interesting character and a brilliant basketball player (as well as the perfect actor for a Terminator film commercial), but it seems unlikely that he truly believes this deep down. Perhaps for him it is just another away game, but for the throngs of San Antonio fans, it is not, as he refused to play for their team in his final year their and forced his way out.

Of course, he was likely in the right in that scenario, as load management seemingly led to him winning a second championship last season with the Toronto Raptors – after he which he dipped out to the warmer climes of Los Angeles.

Leonard is having a somewhat inefficient start to the 2019-20 season, but that hasn’t stopped the deep and talented Clippers roster from zooming out to a 14-6 record – good for third in the Western Conference. With supreme depth and the return of Paul George, Leonard and the Clips are in a good spot, no matter what the circumstances of “normal away games” are.