Ailing Raptors squad gears up for reunion with old acquaintance
Kawhi Leonard played down his return to San Antonio a year ago.
He’s not about to spark any fires as he gets set to meet his old team and fellow NBA champion Toronto Raptors.
The man who would never face a microphone or recorder if he had his way will see his former teammates Monday as the Raptors finish off their only Los Angeles visit this year a night after taking on the Staples Center’s other tenant, the Lakers.
It’s just not in Leonard’s DNA to get all nostalgic about last season when his mind is firmly on this season.
But he did allow for a tiny bit of reflection when he addressed the media ahead of Monday’s game.
“It’s a former team I won a championship with, but it’s another game,” Leonard said predictably. “It’s going to be fun to see the guys and just congratulate them and be able to shake hands and compete.”
That is Leonard in a nutshell. He doesn’t get overly excited about anything away from the court short of celebrating a big win and only then in the immediate aftermath.
But he has been keeping somewhat of an eye on his former running mates and he’s not going to be surprised by the steps both Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby have taken since he departed.
“They’ve been playing well, I haven’t got a chance to catch every game, but the games I catch, they’re playing well. Obviously, they’re the next team that we’re going to play, so you see what they’ve been doing, but they’ve taken off where they left off,” Leonard said. “OG’S finally getting a chance to play every game, a lot of minutes, so his improvement is just going to keep getting better as well as Pascal, him being the No. 1 option, No. 2 option is great for him ... he’s just going to learn and keep growing.”
Leonard mentioned Siakam being the first or second offensive option, but there’s no question he’ll be the No. 1 option this weekend and for at least the next few weeks with Kyle Lowry sidelined.
Lowry’s absence — he’ ll be out at least two weeks and likely three as he rehabs a small fracture in his left thumb — as well as that of Serge Ibaka, who has a badly sprained ankle and was seeing more doctors on Sunday, has taken a lot of the lustre off this back- to- back weekend series with the Lakers and Clippers.
The Raptors still have Siakam to lean on, but the point guard position was already one where Toronto lacked depth and without Lowry, that lack of depth is going to be sorely tested — particularly with three of the next four opponents all within the top 10 offensive rating ( points scored per 100 possessions) in the NBA.
The Lakers, the only team that is not a top 10 offensive team, just happen to be No. 1 in the league in defensive rating ( points allowed per 100 possessions).
On the plus side, the Raptors are going to have to start leaning on some of their depth players and that means deciding on who can and who can’t help them.
With everyone healthy and still fresh to start the year, head coach Nick Nurse was willing to ride his best seven or eight players while the remainder earned his trust with their practice and shootaround performances.
That was coming to an end anyway, with Patrick Mccaw ruled out for at least a month following surgery on his left knee.
But now with Lowry and Ibaka also sidelined, Nurse has no choice.
He’s got to choose and get significant minutes from the group of Chris Boucher, Terrence Davis II, Matt Thomas, Rondae Hollis-jefferson and Stanley Johnson. He’s also got Dewan Hernandez up from the G League Raptors 905s to augment his frontcourt after he was recalled on Friday night.
But there’s no help yet in the backcourt where it’s really going to be needed.
How the Raptors address that will be the most important part of these next few games.