INGLEWOOD — Darius Garland’s transition to the Clippers has been as smooth as slipping on a pair of designer sunglasses. The glare has been minimal while playing in Kawhi Leonard’s shadow.
“Yeah. I mean, I let Kawhi be Kawhi, bro. I mean, it’s pretty easy,” Garland said. “If you have a mismatch where you like somebody he likes, I’m just going to throw him the ball and just get out his way.”
But as they share the court more often, the new teammates are developing chemistry that could be formidable for the Clippers during their final 18 regular-season games.
The Clippers (32-32) will be looking [to move beyond the .500 mark](https://www.ocregister.com/2026/03/09/clippers-take-down-knicks-to-reach-500-for-1st-time-since-early-november/) on Wednesday night when they host the Minnesota Timberwolves (40-24 through Monday) at the Intuit Dome.
[Garland arrived in L.A. six weeks ago after a trade with the Cleveland Cavaliers](https://www.ocregister.com/2026/02/03/report-clippers-trade-james-harden-to-cavaliers-for-darius-garland/), giving the Clippers a complementary piece to Leonard, someone to share the load and limelight.
But his anticipated debut was delayed a month while dealing with toe issues, then he came off the bench in limited minutes in his first two games.
Now, he is starting alongside Leonard and has quickly found his footing in Coach Tyronn Lue’s offense. In two starts and four games overall, Garland is averaging 17 points, 5.8 rebounds and 2.3 assists while shooting 43.6% from the field and 42.9% from 3-point range.
Combine that with Leonard’s team-high 27.9 ppg on 49.8% shooting, 6.4 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 2.0 steals and the two will be a tough matchup for opponents, who will have to decide who to focus on and who to leave open.
Right now, Leonard is seeing a lot of bodies around him, leaving Garland open from 3-point range.
“It’s pretty easy to play with him because everybody’s afraid of him. Everybody’s going to double(-team) most of the time,” Garland said of the seven-time All-Star. “So, when he makes the right read, that’s when we (the rest of the team) go out there and just be aggressive and play.”
Leonard, who has played with several talented point guards during a Hall-of-Fame-caliber career, is delighted to have a young playmaker, someone who can feed him the ball, play with pace and create catch-and-shoot opportunities.
“He’s an All-Star player. I’ve been saying that he could see the floor very well, a great point guard who can shoot the ball, (he’s) very crafty with his handle and can finish it at the rim,” Leonard said. “I know what type of player he was coming in and he’s proven himself and he’s only going to get better.”
Now the job of figuring out how the two can co-exist and succeed on the Clippers is up to Lue. With Garland on a minutes restriction until he is fully up to speed, Lue is navigating a delicate balance of managing their time on court. Right now, Lue is trying to stagger their minutes.
“It’s very frustrating, especially when you catch a rhythm with the guys on the floor … and finally get an offensive flow,” Lue said. “And then you got to make the decision. Do you stay with the guys that are rolling or do you get them out so you can make sure (they aren’t fatigued).
“It’s a fine line, man. It’s tough, but it’s what we have to do right now and we’ll get through it.”
#### TIMBERWOLVES AT CLIPPERS
**When:** Wednesday, 7 p.m.
**Where:** Intuit Dome
**TV/Radio:** FDSN SoCal/570 AM