Leonard eager to ignite Raptors
TORONTO — When Kawhi Leonard stepped off the court on Jan. 13, his bizarre final season with the San Antonio Spurs was already done after only nine games.
It’s been nine months since one of the NBA’s biggest stars has been in a real game. Leonard has missed playing basketball.
“Everything — bad calls, missing shots, making shots, winning games, high fives with teammates and just being competitive out there,” the 27-year-old said Tuesday. “Just [missed] everything, I love the game.”
Leonard, back in action after a quad injury scuttled his 2017-18 season, will make his long-awaited regular-season debut with Toronto when the Raptors host Cleveland today. As much as Raptors fans have been eager to see Leonard — the biggest piece in the blockbuster trade that sent DeMar DeRozan to the Spurs — fit seamlessly into his new team, Leonard would also like nothing better.
But Leonard, who was the MVP of the 2013 NBA final, suggested it could be a work in progress.
“The challenge is coming in to a new coaching standpoint and direction,” he said after practice. “It’s not the same offence that I’m used to. It’s a different coach, different style of play. I’m used to playing the same way for six years so that’s the challenge for me, just learning the new plays.”
For the past few years, the Raptors’ blueprint has been built around the hard work and hustle of DeRozan, Kyle Lowry and a supporting cast, with former head coach Dwane Casey, who was fired after last season’s playoff disappointment, barking encouragement from the bench. The Raptors have been among the best in the league in the fourth quarter of games.
Nick Nurse, an NBA rookie head coach and Casey’s former assistant, said he hopes that same workmanlike mentality is instilled in this season’s team as the Raptors look to take a revamped roster all the way to the NBA final.
“It’s not like it’s something that we talked about a lot at all in the past. Like, ‘Hey we’re going to come out and play harder,’ ” Nurse said. “It’s kind a given a little bit that we’re going to come out and play hard. I think your practice structure, your preparation, all those things feed into that sense of: we’re ready to play and we’re ready to fight.”