Giving Spurs’ Leonard a pass isn’t assisting him in long run
SAN ANTONIO — James Harden knows the deal. It’s the same one Russell Westbrook has in Oklahoma City, the same one LeBron James has in Cleveland, and the same one NBA superstars have accepted for decades.
One way or another, when his team’s season ends, the outcome will double as a verdict about him.
If Houston fails to beat the Spurs twice in the next five days, we know how this will play out. Harden will have to answer for a yet-to-be-determined botched moment, or some subpar quarter, and many will view the defeat as proof of an inherent shortcoming in his game.
But if it’s the Spurs who come up short? Some will point to Tony Parker’s ruptured quadriceps tendon, or to LaMarcus Aldridge’s stat line, or even to Gregg Popovich’s substitution patterns.
Kawhi Leonard, interestingly enough, remains beyond reproach.
Part of this stems from where Leonard came from, as well as how he arrived. For the most part, he was not part of the national basketball consciousness until he was winning an NBA Finals most valuable player award.
Different rules
So he exceeded expectations even before any expectations existed, which is quite a trick. And he skipped the whole “will he or won’t he?” championship-chase stage that defines the early part of almost every other franchise player’s career.
Every time Harden, Westbrook, Kevin Durant, Chris Paul and others have lost, it’s been an indictment on their ability to take the final step. Leonard earned lifetime immunity from that prosecution right away, then improved every year since.
But on nights like Sunday, when the Spurs were blown out in Game 4 of the Western Conference semifinals in Houston, it almost feels like giving Leonard a pass is doing him a disservice.
In the third quarter, during the nine minutes when the Rockets extended a two-point lead to a 14-point edge, Leonard shot 1-for-4 and scored two points to go with two rebounds, a turnover and no assists. He didn’t return in the fourth quarter.
It wasn’t a horrendous outing by any means, but Harden would have been killed for it. Leonard expects more from himself. By now, the rest of the league should, too.
To be fair, Leonard usually gives it to them. In fact, according to Basketball Reference, Leonard is delivering one of the greatest all-around NBA postseason performances in history.
Through 10 playoff games, Leonard has posted a Player Efficiency Rating of 33.3. Among all players who ever have seen at least 100 minutes of action in a single postseason, only Hakeem Olajuwon, James and George Mikan have compiled a better number.
He was transcendent in the first round against Memphis, and against the Rockets he has been asked to play a Harden-like role on one end of the floor while spending much of his time guarding the real Harden at the other. It’s only natural he would suffer a slip.
Too much credit?
But this might be what members of the NBA’s well-established glitterati whisper about when they discuss Leonard. In January, respected ESPN reporter Brian Windhorst — who has covered James’ entire career — casually mentioned during a podcast that Leonard isn’t viewed as an elite talent by some of his supposed peers.
“There are some people who are frustrated Kawhi has gotten as much love as he has,” Windhorst said. “It’s not just LeBron, actually. There’s other top players who feel the same way.”
Leonard probably doesn’t care about that, and maybe no one else should, either. He has been indisputably great — without question one of the top four players in the league this season — and he continues to trend upward.
Eventually, those “other top players” are bound to acknowledge it, too. But maybe what bothers them most is the idea that Leonard doesn’t have the same deal they do. They know what it’s like to be blamed for a season gone wrong, even when they don’t deserve it.
Leonard has not experienced that yet. Perhaps he will someday. But for now, he’s beyond reproach and doing everything he can to stay that way.