Another day, another you-have-to-see-it-to-believe-it performance from Kawhi Leonard.
This time it came during one of the most pivotal games in the history of the Toronto Raptors franchise. The Raps trailed their second-round series with the Philadelphia 76ers, 2-1 heading into Sunday afternoon’s game on the road. A loss would send the Raps home for Tuesday’s Game 5 down 3-1 with a hefty task of slowing a rolling, talented Sixers squad.
Instead, thanks to Leonard’s 39-point, 14-rebound effort on Sunday, the Raptors secured the narrow win and are right back in the series.
It wasn’t just that Leonard neared the 40-point mark, raising his playoff scoring average to 32.2 — second only to Kevin Durant — but the stunning efficiency in which he dominated, including this clutch three-pointer over seven-footer Joel Embiid to ice the game:
Naturally, the basketball world has been buzzing over Leonard, who was the top-trender on Twitter Sunday afternoon. Here’s what the non-Canadian media had to say in the immediate aftermath of another mind-numbing playoff game from Kawhi, whose scoring numbers coupled with his efficiency have put him in a truly elite class through two rounds:
New York Times — The Future Is Uncertain, but Kawhi Leonard is Clearly the Raptors’ Present
NYT’s Harvey Araton examines the risk/reward nature of Leonard’s Raptors tenure and why, for the time being at least, Leonard is proving why in the NBA it’s almost always worth moving mountains or doing whatever it takes when presented with the opportunity to land a player of Kawhi’s calibre:
It was all on display, the complete Kawhi Leonard show, and why it was worth staging in Toronto this season, even against ominous odds of there ever being another.
The Raptors on Sunday were facing their most challenging test in their bid for a deep playoff run and, in the process, to persuade Leonard to sign with them as a free agent this summer. Whatever Leonard’s long-term intentions may be, losing to facilitate an early escape is obviously not part of the plan.
Leonard is already in the conversation of the best two-way players in the N.B.A., and his ceiling keeps rising. In Game 4 of the Eastern Conference semifinals, he erupted for 39 points, including a step-back, game-icing 3-pointer as the shot clock was winding down, and the Raptors evened the series by defeating the 76ers, 101-96, at Wells Fargo Center.
…Ujiri didn’t naïvely bring Leonard to Toronto. There was no set of prescribed circumstances — not even winning a championship, as Leonard has already won a ring with the Spurs and still wanted out — that ensured his signature. And though Leonard has shared none of his thoughts behind a face made for the highest poker stakes, there has been no shortage of speculation that the Los Angeles native wants to go home.
Philly.com — The Raptors didn’t beat the Sixers. Kawhi Leonard did. And he might just win this series by himself.
Philly.com’s Mike Sielski takes a step back to break down Leonard’s playoff dominance within the wider context of Raptors history.
…A peach-colored bandage kept clear bags of ice affixed to each of his knees, and before he stood he unwrapped each one, setting the bags beside him on the floor. Then he took three steps and sat again, this time with his head down, this time on a wooden bench in front of the group shower, which was already full. He waited a minute or two. When Kyle Lowry walked out, Leonard shuffled in. Neither acknowledged the other.
All of it, from Leonard’s latest marvelous performance in his marvelous series to the manner in which he plays and carries himself, exists on the same continuum. He is averaging 38 points a game and shooting 62 percent from the field against the Sixers, milestones that Michael Jordan reached just once in playoff series in his career. Yet Leonard is at once of the Raptors and apart from them, a perception only enhanced by the reality that, because he will be an unrestricted free agent this summer, he might not return to the team once this postseason ends.
He dribbles, moves, jumps, shoots at his own pace, in his own style, his game somehow independent of and separate from the game, from whatever else is happening around him. Watch him closely, and you see the beauty. Widen your view, and you realize he’s inside his own snow globe. There is a kind of gunslinger quality to him and what he’s doing, as if he is and must be a man alone, as if he has been called in to clean up the mess of Toronto’s previous half-decade. The summary of those five years: four division titles, three seasons of at least 50 wins, two first-round exits, two second-round exits, no NBA championships, no appearances even in the Finals, too many unfulfilled expectations to count.
ESPN — Kawhi in rare air after 39 points, 14 boards in win
In an exercise that’s becoming more and more eye-opening after each passing game, ESPN’s Kevin Arnovitz takes a look at the historical significance of what Leonard has been up to this post-season:
In the first nine games of the 2019 playoffs, Leonard has become the first player in NBA postseason history to average 30 points, five rebounds and three assists on an effective field goal percentage greater than 65. He is averaging 32.3 points, 7.7 rebounds and 3.4 assists with an effective field goal percentage of 66.2 percent.
Only three other players in NBA history have posted averages of 30 points, five rebounds and three assists on an effective field goal percentage greater than 60 in a postseason that extended longer than one round: LeBron James (2016-17), Shaquille O’Neal (1997-98) and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (1976-77).
With the win, the Raptors regained home-court advantage against Philadelphia ahead of Game 5, in which Leonard will have an opportunity to score 30 or more points in his fifth consecutive conference semifinal game.
“That’s Kawhi, man,” Raptors big man Serge Ibaka said. “That’s what he does for a living.”
Inside the NBA crew react to Kawhi’s big day
Shaquille O’Neal, Charles Barkley and the gang marvel at Leonard’s superstar status, and break down what, exactly, his presence means for the Raptors’ playoff run.
“That’s real superstar basketball right there,” says O’Neal, who knows of what he speaks:
Don’t even get me started on ESPN’s Chris Broussard, who carelessly announced all of Canada as ‘soft’ (what does he bring to the table again? And why is he still on television after this?) heading into Game 4 and updated his comments following the Raptors’ decidedly un-soft win.
…And then there’s Skip Bayless. I… can’t even:
SI — Kawhi Leonard Puts on Another Impressive Display as Raptors Knot Series at Two All
…And with the score at 91-90 in favor of Toronto with just under 90 seconds left in regulation, Leonard stepped back for three going to his right around Ben Simmons, nailing the jumper that estimably iced the game.
Of course he did. In an era where highlight clips dictate players’ narratives more than ever, Leonard’s dominance is almost disconcertingly fundamental. When he gets going offensively, as he usually does, you can really only describe it as a show because of how often the ball goes in the basket. He’s a black-and-white film artfully explaining itself, tucked into in an era filled with sequels and binge-watching. He finished with 39 points, 14 rebounds, five assists and seven turnovers, every bit essential to a team that can’t survive at this level without him, particularly on a night where Pascal Siakam was less than 100%.
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