With their Monday night win over the New York Knicks at Intuit Dome, the Los Angeles Clippers officially got back to .500 for the first time since they were 3-3 back on November 3. 

It's been a long road to reach this moment. Everyone remembers Ty Lue saying he wanted his team to go on a 35-20 run or better to end the season, which sounded preposterous at the time. Now, LA has gone 26-11 since its dreadful 6-21 start. 

This massively impressive stretch over the last two and a half months has been a total team effort, but it wouldn't have been possible without the fantastic play of Kawhi Leonard. He spoke in the locker room after the Clippers' latest win. 

When asked what it means to get back to .500, Leonard was blunt. "It's cool," he said. "The job ain't done, the season's not over. I mean, it's what's expected. Like I told the fellas, we don't train to lose, we train to win." 

These are exactly the kind of words you want to hear from your franchise leader, because they send a certain message. Being overly impressed by the run the team has gone on so far would be indicative of someone who hasn't been here before. 

That's not Kawhi at all. He's seen it all in his 15-year career, and he knows that while a big positive, what the Clippers have done since the middle of December is really only the starting point. They still have a lot more work to do if they're to achieve something truly meaningful this season. 

"Like I said, job is not done," Leonard said. "We've still got games to play. So it's nothing to be happy about." 

Fans who have been watching the NBA for a long time understand exactly why Kawhi took this approach in answering the question. The Clippers are still looking for their first NBA championship and first NBA Finals appearance.

To act like they've done something at this point when they really haven't would be to reinforce the stereotypes about what level this organization is on. In reality, LA has logged 14 straight winning seasons. They've had good things brewing for a while, but it's about getting over the hump, and Leonard knows that. 

As they keep winning, the Clippers continue to move up in the standings. Their record is now identical to the Golden State Warriors, and they're currently in possession of the eighth seed in the West. 

The work isn't finished. But this team has laid the foundation to continue putting together an all-time turnaround this season. What's been done so far is impressive, and there's reason to have optimism. But the job still needs to be completed.