Toronto Raptors come back down to earth against the Denver Nuggets
By Paul Taylor
3) Kawhi Leonard continues to roll
Ultimately it didn’t matter. Regardless, Leonard continued the form which has put him on course for the best regular season of his NBA career.
There is no denying the 2014 NBA Finals MVP has now fully recovered from the injury issues which plagued him last season. He is averaging career-highs for points and rebounds, while just generally dominating games again.
Leonard scored a game-high 27 points, to go along with eight boards. He played his usual stellar defence and stepped up down the home stretch, to give the Raptors a genuine chance to win the game.
And yet, you still feel like the two-time defensive player of the year has more to give. This is not to be perceived as a negative however; he still held up his end of the bargain and did enough to keep the Raptors in contention against the Nuggets.
Ultimately, Monday night highlighted that the Raptors still need other players to step up, no matter how well Leonard is playing. And while there is no doubt he can take it up another notch come playoff time, this is still a team game.