BATTLE OF THE STARS IN SAN ANTONIO
San Antonio fans haven’t forgiven star for how he left
Leonard and DeRozan meet for first time since big trade — and it was all DeMar as Spurs sink Raptors,
SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS— It was about 17 minutes to tip-off when they began, the boos serenading Kawhi Leonard when he first stepped on the AT&T Center court, and they continued every time a Toronto Raptor was shown on the scoreboard video screen.
It certainly wasn’t at Vince Carter-back-to-Toronto levels of fan vitriol, nor was it at the same screech that greeted other villains such as Chris Bosh, Tracy McGrady or Damon Stoudamire.
But any thought that San Antonio Spurs fans might treat Leonard to even a mixed reaction were quickly dashed.
It was a weird scene all along: Every time Leonard touched the ball or tried a shot in the pre-game layup line he was booed; every time Danny Green, another ex-Spur making a return here did the same, the crowd cheered.
“I’m hoping one thing, I can predict or guess another,” Green had said earlier in the day. And he was right. The game certainly had a buildup entirely out of proportion for its place in a long season.
The news story on Leonard’s return was at the top of the front page of the local newspaper, his return also led television newscasts and the horde for his pre-shootaround media availability started gathering 45 minutes before he was even scheduled to speak.
No one here treated it as “just another game.”
The emotion of the moment didn’t seem to faze Leonard in the least; cast him as a hero or the villain and he simply goes about his business.
There will be those who vilify the former Spur for slights real and perceived that led to his departure via trade last summer. And then there will be some who’ll lionize him for his NBA Finals MVP-performance in 2014, his two defensive player of the year awards and all the greatness that helped bring to the storied franchise.
And through it all, Leonard remains his outwardly stoic self, proud of what he accomplished here and unwilling to get too emotional about it. Still, it will tug at him a wee bit. “I put a lot of blood, sweat and tears wearing that jersey, believing in something, and I put a lot of work in here,” Leonard said Thursday morning before the Raptors had their final preparation prior to meeting the Spurs in one of the most highly-anticipated games of the season.
The 27-year-old Leonard was not about to elaborate on his departure from San Antonio — “I’m not going to discuss that here today,” he said quickly and emphatically — but he knew there would be, at best, mixed reaction from fans upon his return.
But boos or cheers weren’t going to unnerve him.
“I’ve said this before — it can only make me a better player for what we have down the road, and what we’re going to see from this team is only going to get me and us better,” he said.
And that might be the best thing to come of the night. The Raptors were in a truly hostile environment playing a very good team and, yes, it was one game out of 82 but it might prepare them for what awaits.
“I’m looking forward to it,” Raptors coach Nick Nurse said hours before tip-off.
“I’m expecting this to be a playoff-type atmosphere in here, on the road, really loud, not very nice — the things that you will see in the playoffs. We have just got to embrace it.
“We keep saying that all of these games are preparing us for later on down the road, so I hope it’s wild and noisy and a close game and all those things that can help us grow as a team. That’s what I’m looking forward to.”
Green, also making his San Antonio return after he was packaged with Leonard for DeMar DeRozan, Jakob Poeltl and a draft pick, has been through enough with Leonard over the years that nothing that happens will be new or unusual.
“I think that me and Kawhi have been playing for a little bit of time now, we’re used to being in different buildings, playing against great teams and fans making comments, gestures, boos and loud noises,” Green said on Thursday before the game.