LEONARD’S PRESENCE ON THE COURT SPEAKS FOR ITSELF
These are early days, but the Raptors continue to send a message to other NBA Eastern Conference contenders: With Kawhi Leonard in the lineup you are going to have to play awfully well to top Toronto.
Leonard’s been the best player on the court nearly every time he’s been out there for the Raptors so far, including Tuesday’s 129-112 win over a full-strength Philadelphia team that is also expected to be in the mix for top spot in the East.
Granted Leonard had the previous night off while the Sixers, including Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid, were on the road to complete a back-to-back, but it wasn’t just fatigue that bothered Simmons or made Embiid start the game slowly before turning it on.
Leonard’s presence was everywhere, the team got in the passing lanes, there were blocked shots (three more by a rejuvenated Serge Ibaka, two by Jonas Valanciunas and one by Danny Green) and this was without two of the squad’s better defenders, Fred VanVleet and OG Anunoby.
With Leonard playing, Toronto has overwhelmed East favourites Boston and Philadelphia and we’ll have to wait and see how the team does in the rematches against Milwaukee, games that should include the superstars Leonard and Giannis Antetokounmpo, unlike the first meeting in Milwaukee on Monday.
Toronto has the NBA’s thirdbest offence so far, the 11th-best defence, and the best player on the floor most nights — along with a very good second all-star, Kyle Lowry, who currently leads the league in assists.
As well as DeMar DeRozan has been playing in San Antonio, Leonard simply brings an extra dimension to the table.
Still, Lowry preached caution on Tuesday night, making sure nobody gets ahead of themselves.
“We have a lot of work to do. It’s a long process,” Lowry said.
“We have a good trip coming up for us, we finally get on the road for more than a day, it will be good for us,” he said of the Phoenix, Los Angeles, Utah, Sacramento stretch that awaits before the club’s next home game, on Nov. 10 vs. New York.
Simmons called Leonard a “freak” defensively after being locked down by the two-time NBA defensive player of the year on Tuesday.
According to Positive Residual (@presidual on Twitter) Leonard was the primary defender on 60 per cent of Simmons’ possessions in the game, with Simmons committing five turnovers on those possessions, four of them coming from Leonard steals.
Leonard also cleanly blocked a Simmons layup attempt, but was called for a foul on the play. The NBA later admitted it was a missed call and should not have been ruled a foul.
Toronto’s had some outstanding defensive players over the years: Alvin Robertson and Doug Christie in the early days, Marcus Camby, Tracy McGrady, Alvin Williams, Antonio Davis, Keon Clark and Lowry and Amir Johnson later on, but nothing like Leonard. He can guard four positions and shut players down, no matter how good they are, while also having enough in the tank to dominate at the other end.
“It’s pretty valuable, right,” understated head coach Nick Nurse when asked about Leonard’s defensive abilities.
“He can guard the ball, he can guard people coming off pindowns, he can guard guys on the post … but mostly, I think it’s just his natural instinct for getting his hands on stuff … The ball’s popping around and, boom, he comes out of there with it any variety of ways.”
Recently Golden State’s Draymond Green said there isn’t anyone in the (same) defensive “category with me but Kawhi.”
Nurse was thrilled to watch Delon Wright play his best basketball of the young season, especially in one second quarter stretch that saw him score three baskets, including a three-pointer.
“He had a great stint there, very good. I let him run I think almost 10 straight minutes because he was playing so good and that was good to see,” Nurse said.
“You could kind of see it coming (against Milwaukee), where he was getting with the ball and tonight he was just another step more assertive and made more of those plays.”
Wright played 14 minutes, still fewer than the number the team would like to give him, but it shouldn’t be long before he’s ready to play more.
The return of VanVleet, whenever the swelling in his toe goes down, could impact that a bit, but ideally the Raptors would find a good chunk of time for Lowry, Wright and VanVleet.
The Raptors did some easy bookkeeping on Wednesday, exercising the contract options for Anunoby and Pascal Siakam, arguably the club’s two most promising young players.
While several NBA teams declined options on former firstrounders before the Halloween deadline to make such decisions, Toronto’s Anunoby and Siakam calls were no-brainers.
Siakam, 24, scored a careerbest 22 points on Monday and followed it up with his first 15 rebound game against Philadelphia a night later. His minutes have shot up recently as he looks to be a long-term starter at power forward after being selected 27th overall in 2016.
The Raptors picked up Siakam’s fourth-year option and Anunoby’s third-year option, but declined the option on swingman Malachi Richardson, who was acquired last year in exchange for Bruno Caboclo.
Anunoby, just 21, was the 23rd pick of the 2017 draft and is seen as a prototypical two-way prospect capable of hitting a high percentage of his three-point attempts, while also providing elite defence. The 6-foot-8 forward, who started 62 games as a rookie, can play either forward spot, while Siakam has been utilized as power forward and centre.
With only Norman Powell on the books for $10.8 million US in 2020-21, the Raptors should easily be able to sign both Siakam and Anunoby to pricey new deals once the time comes.