The Kawhi Leonard Show Is Not Slowing Down
SAN ANTONIO — Stephen Curry came out of the halftime locker room in a blaze. He scored 13 points in fewer than two minutes early in the third quarter, cutting what had been a 23-point Spurs lead down to 14 in the blink of an eye.
Then Gregg Popovich stuck Kawhi Leonard on the league’s MVP frontrunner. Curry wouldn’t score another point, and the result of the game quickly became an afterthought.
San Antonio was as thoroughly dominant in Easter Sunday’s 107-92 win over the Warriors as it had been all year, and Leonard’s play has escalated to the point where we’re surprised by what we’re watching — from the reigning MVP of the NBA Finals. Leonard tied a regular-season career-high with 26 points (for the fifth time) and tacked on five rebounds and three assists. But that’s burying the lead.
Kawhi snagged seven steals in 24 minutes on the court, becoming the first player in the last 30 years to go for at least 26 points and seven steals in less than 25 minutes, according to basketball-reference. And you might have to search deeper than that to find the last person to accomplish that feat, as the website only tracks this particular data back to the 1985-86 season.
Golden State is a monster, make no mistake about that. But the Spurs just became the only team in the league to beat the Warriors more than once this season. San Antonio has what most teams don’t — a tandem of wing defenders you can throw on Curry and Klay Thompson that can defend the duo with versatility.
When Leonard and Danny Green were on the floor together, the Spurs outscored the Dubs by 37.5 points per 100 possessions. It was an issue for Golden State during the conference semifinals two seasons ago, and it figures to be a major factor as this year’s playoffs approach.
The Warriors said after the game there would be a plan for Leonard and the matchup problems he creates come playoff time, should the two sides actually meet, but that appears to be something more easily said than done these days.
Kawhi has gotten to the point where he’s the best player on the floor on any given night, more often than not. We tend to measure a player’s impact or overall ranking based on the kind of offensive player he is; those stats tend to make a more significant impression than the numbers on the defensive side. But this guy has been an absolute terror. He’s a pterodactyl. You cannot dribble around him.
It’s become so blatantly obvious that he’s the most impactful defensive player in the league, that I’m not sure the Defensive Player of the Year should even be a discussion anymore. As wonderfully as Draymond Green has played that side of the ball this season, and for all the versatility he’s provided that team, Leonard’s post-All-Star-break surge has been nothing short of mind-boggling. He steals anything within reach, he’ll block your shot if you challenge him, passing lanes evaporate within a 10-foot radius around him, and he’ll guard anyone on the floor. He’s been a one-man demolition derby, and he’s been torturing the best ball-handlers in the NBA.
Since the Spurs inserted Tiago Splitter back into the starting lineup on Feb. 27, San Antonio is 17-3 and is outscoring opponents by 21.1 points per 100 possessions when Leonard is on the floor, per NBA.com. And it’s not just his defense.
Kawhi has figured something out recently: He’s just bigger than almost anyone who tries to guard him. His drives to the basket no longer appear cautious; he doesn’t pause or hesitate anymore when confronted with additional defenders; he’s got crazy, crazy confidence in his mid-range game right now (shooting 52.4 percent in that area over his last 20 games); and he’s scoring at a 75-percent clip around the rim.
San Antonio is a little bit top-heavy right now, which is weird. But the player leading the way — Leonard is unequivocally the team’s best player — is playing out of his mind.
This was kind of short, as I’m working on something for this week that better illustrates exactly how good Leonard’s been, but what we saw last night wasn’t an aberration.
The Warriors were on the second night of a back-t0-back, and that has to be taken into account. Do not confuse this team with the one you’ll see when the playoffs start. But the Spurs showed they may have an answer to Golden State’s wild perimeter attack.
I think I speak for everyone when I say, we need this series in the postseason. And please, not in the second round. We just need to hope everything pans out the right way, because these two teams are the best in the conference. It’s just been a weird year.
As for the Spurs, they’re still in the race for the second seed in the West, which is just ridiculous. Houston currently sits alone in that spot, just two games up on San Antonio in the loss column.
The best part about that: The Spurs and Rockets play a home-and-home this week on Wednesday and Friday. That will go a long way in deciding the seeding in the conference.
This is getting fun.
