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Toronto Raptors: Kawhi Leonard proving why he’s the best player in the East

By David Morassutti

TORONTO, ON - OCTOBER 17: Kawhi Leonard #2 of the Toronto Raptors shoots a free throw during the second half of the NBA season opener against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Scotiabank Arena on October 17, 2018 in Toronto, Canada. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images)
TORONTO, ON - OCTOBER 17: Kawhi Leonard #2 of the Toronto Raptors shoots a free throw during the second half of the NBA season opener against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Scotiabank Arena on October 17, 2018 in Toronto, Canada. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images) /
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Even with the Toronto Raptors lightening his workload in the early going, Kawhi Leonard continues to show why he’s the best player in the East.

With each passing game, it’s hard to not be excited with the way the Toronto Raptors season is going. At 7-1 they’re one of the top teams in the league despite a crushing loss to the Milwaukee Bucks and the main reason is Kawhi Leonard.

There were a lot of questions facing the team after acquiring Leonard and promoting Nick Nurse but most of them have been answered in the early going. In the Raptors 129-112 win over the Philadelphia 76ers, Leonard was the most dominant player on the court like he has been in every game so far this season.

Leonard didn’t play the night before against the Bucks as the team looks to lighten his load in back-to-back situations which has expected given he only played nine games last season. Now for people giving Kawhi and the Raptors grief for this decision should look at the impact Leonard has at both ends of the court.

While it’s only been six games, the 27-year-old is averaging 34.7 minutes, 504 per cent shooting from the field, 44.4 per cent shooting from beyond the arc, and 7.8 rebounds a game. Those are all career bests for Leonard and he is still averaging 2.0 steals per game while also making life difficult for opposing players.

Ben Simmons made it a point to point out how difficult Leonard was to play against as he had 11 turnovers and a big reason why is he uses his physical traits to his advantage.

"“He’s a freak,” Simmons said of Leonard’s defense to reporters after the game. “His hands are huge. He’s got long arms. He’s a great defender. One of those things where I learn from that and try to get better. Hopefully the next time I see him, it’s gonna be a different story.”"

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Even 76ers head coach Brett Brown who was once an assistant in San Antonio with Kawhi wasn’t exactly surprised with the difficulties his team had against the Raptors superstar.

Performances like the one against Philadelphia go a long way in determining a players’ reputation and right now it’s difficult to find another player in the East who’s better than Kawhi.  When Philadelphia made it a close game, Leonard came in and took care of business with some impressive shots and defensive plays and before you knew it, the game was out of reach.

Nurse addressed the decision to sit Leonard in the first half of the back-to-back and described it as a long-term process for a player who the Raptors want to keep fresh when it matters.

"“We are trying to be really smart with what we’re doing. If somebody were to knock on the door and tell me he’s not playing tonight, I’m going to go put somebody else in there and we’re going to go fight to win,” the coach told Smith. “It’s where we are. It’s a long-term type of thing. Probably the biggest thing is, it’s fluid. It’s not like we can sit here and say ‘OK, let’s do the next three months.’ We just aren’t going do it that way. So that’s kind of where we are.”"

Now there are some critics who aren’t in favour of the decision to sit Kawhi especially Skip Bayless who was pretty vocal about it on Undisputed. He even brought up that he would rather have DeMar DeRozan who seems to be fitting in well with the San Antonio Spurs.

Now listening to Bayless’ rant he said Leonard “quit” on the Spurs but that might be a bit of an exaggeration and Shannon Sharpe calls out his argument saying that San Antonio would take Kawhi back if they could.

There’s a reason why this trade shocked the NBA on multiple fronts because no team wants to trade Kawhi because of the impact he has. Whether he stays with the Raptors after this season remains to be seen but it seems like he’s enjoying his time here at least and fans should enjoy having a player of his calibre while they can.

What do you think about Leonard’s play so far this season? Is he the best player in the East or is there someone better than him? Let us know in the comments below. 

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