Kawhi Leonard wasn’t heading to the Clippers until they were able to trade for Paul George.

Yet the fact that the two have not stepped on the floor together shows why a second superstar was needed.

After entering the season seemingly healthy after battling various injuries with the Raptors, Leonard has missed five of the season’s first 14 games, including the last three.

“Last year I was going in with an injury I was dealing with the year before,” Leonard told the Washington Post at Clippers Media day. “It still was lingering. We knew that I had to be healthy throughout the season and into the playoffs. This year I’m feeling good, feeling way better than I was at the start of last season. There’s really no [load management] plan laid out yet to discuss.”

Yet Leonard’s management of a knee contusion he suffered last week means the two have yet to share the court, and George has been thrust into a leading role after returning from shoulder injuries that sidelined him until last week.

When Leonard sits this season, George — as he’s displayed in his first three games back — will be a world-class insurance policy tasked with maintaining the team’s place in a top-heavy Western Conference.

Since his return from injury, George is scoring 29.3 points per game in just 24.3 minutes per night as the Clippers ease him back into action.

George has also kept the Clippers afloat defensively, leading the team to a 99.4 defensive rating in 73 minutes on the court (which would be the best team mark in the league). In the remaining 599 minutes this season without George — including five games where the Clippers were missing Leonard as well — the team has been significantly worse on the defensive end, allowing 105.3 points per 100 possessions, which would push them outside of the top 10.

That gap is the difference between a stingy underdog like last year’s Clippers team and the defensive behemoth that is expected to terrorize opponents when Leonard and George share the court.

Leonard has become the face of the league’s load-management dilemma. He sat out 22 games last season for the Raptors, who had enough depth on their roster — led by point guard Kyle Lowry — to go 17-5 without him and land the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference. Leonard then put together a postseason for the ages in leading the Raptors to the franchise’s first championship.

George, who has led the 9-5 team to two wins in his three games, gives Leonard the opportunity to take that type of time off again this season.

While the Clippers have performed like a title contender with just Leonard on the court (outscoring opponents by 13.3 points per 100 possessions), the picture gets a lot uglier with both him and George on the sidelines.

The Clippers’ most-used lineup without their two stars — Pat Beverley, Patrick Patterson, Landry Shamet, Lou Williams and Ivica Zubac — has been outscored by 7.3 points per 100 possessions in 30 minutes this season.

Lineups with Montrezl Harrell have fared a lot better, but the Clippers are simply a much worse team if they’re ever forced to play without Leonard and George for an extended amount of time.

If George’s job alongside Leonard is to elevate them to a championship contender, his job right now is to simply keep the wheels from falling off.

While Leonard’s injury is considered “day-to-day,” his load management will likely result in George leading the team at various points this season.

The early signs show that he’ll have little trouble keeping the team churning under those circumstances.

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