On Monday Sportsnet put out its three-quarter-mark NBA awards and gave the MVP nod to James Harden, who narrowly edged out triple-double machine Russell Westbrook. San Antonio Spurs forward Kawhi Leonard finished third.
Monday night, Leonard delivered a pretty strong rebuttal:
The play showcases exactly why Leonard is in the running for the award despite the ridiculous statistical outputs of Harden and Westbrook, per Sportsnet’s Donnovan Bennett:
The case for Kawhi is simple: he’s close to as good offensively as the other serious candidates and miles better than them defensively…. If the Spurs make a late run and secure the No. 1 seed overall due to Kevin Durant’s injury, Leonard’s candidacy will grow.
Leonard’s three-and-block combo Monday night gave the Spurs their eighth-straight victory, and they now sit just 2.5 games back of Golden State for first in the West. He also poured in 39 points — two off his season high set back in January — and his season averages now sit at 26.3 points, 6.0 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.9 steals.
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