Toronto Raptors fail to provide Kawhi Leonard support in return to San Antonio

In Kawhi Leonard’s first game back to San Antonio since being traded to the Toronto Raptors, DeMar DeRozan led the Spurs in an onslaught of his former team.

The atmosphere lived up to the expectations but the game itself was over not long after tipoff as the Toronto Raptors were embarrassed by the San Antonio Spurs in the much-anticipated return of Kawhi Leonard.

While the fans made it a point to let their feelings be known, DeMar DeRozan‘s performance made a louder statement recording his first career triple-double. Leonard finished the game with 21 points in what was truly a him against the world type of game.

The gameplan was simple for the Spurs, force the Raptors to keep up with them offensively shooting 55.3 per cent from the field and 48.1 per cent from beyond the arc. Once again, the Raptors struggled shooting from three which you can’t do against a Spurs team that has the best three-point percentage in the league.

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What this came down to was the lack of scoring from the supporting cast around Leonard starting with Danny Green who put up a big zero in his return to San Antonio. Kyle Lowry‘s absence continues to be a big problem as Fred VanVleet has struggled to produce consistently in that spot.

There was no answer for LaMarcus Aldridge as he took advantage of Jonas Valanciunas‘ absence from the lineup as he was a force offensively that the Raptors had no answer for defensively.

Simply put, players like OG Anunoby, and Delon Wright have been none factors lately and Masai Ujiri might have to think about making a move to provide some support off the bench. That or Nick Nurse will need to find a way to get those players to snap out of the funk they are in.

One of the best quotes postgame had to be from Leonard when he talked about the reception he got and why he wasn’t surprised about it.

"“Media does a great job to stir people’s minds and influence them to think a certain way,” Leonard told reporters after the game. “So I already knew how that was going to be the way the media was.”"

Obviously, the fans in San Antonio don’t know why Leonard forced his way out but the media certainly hasn’t painted this in a positive light either. Sure the way his final season with the Spurs went was a disaster and he never let on as to why it went down as it did.

Regardless, Leonard seems determined to keep the focus off of that and keep his attention on the court with the Raptors and that’s exactly what he’s done.

What did you think about the Raptors’ performance in San Antonio? How do they get themselves out of this current tough run they are in? Let us know in the comments below.