Time has already lost some of Kawhi Leonard’s essence. You would never comprehend his unstoppable personality if you were not witnessing his career develop in the present. Even if you were seeing it, Kawhi’s domination has been so scattered by injury that it questions our own shared recollection. His body of work is unimaginable.
With possession for possession, Leonard makes a compelling case among the best basketball players to have ever lived. Over his career, Rudy Gay, Monta Ellis, and Antawn Jamison have also outscored him. None of that really makes sense until you see Leonard, at his most precise efficiency, build and execute whatever shot he wants to the greatest degree of competitiveness.
Five years have gone by without Leonard playing for the Los Angeles Clippers. Four years ago, he was last considered a flawless playoff buzzsaw; the probability of ever seeing that version again appeared to drop with every injury and surgery. He just showed up on Monday night.
After a poor Game 1 against the Nuggets, Leonard responded with one of his most outstanding performances to date: 39 points on 15-of-19 shooting from the field, five assists, and a single turnover, combined with apex predator defense and every winning play the Clippers needed to secure a 105-102 victory.
The Denver Nuggets struggled to keep their spacing and line their attack down the stretch. The Clippers gave Leonard ownership of the ball. Leonard’s game has consistently been straightforward, particularly when he is unstoppable. Aaron Gordon took up the obligation and produced a good, dedicated, but ultimately ineffective defense.
Denver shaded additional defenders toward Kawhi whenever he had the ball, therefore limiting his driving paths and mobility. It made no difference. Leonard’s outstanding accuracy allows him to thrive in any kind of captivity forced upon him. His room is limited; hence, he will only combine his motions to fit.
“I am only concerned with the next play and achieving victory,” Leonard said after the encounter. “I will accept the outcome of my shot regardless of the quality of the game.” Negotiating the erratic swings in playoff basketball is challenging. Athletes on both sides of this series are feeling the thrill of success and the agony of failure. A clear lack of compassion sets Leonard apart from others.
Kawhi stands alone in the pantheon of all-time shot-makers. We should conduct scientific research on his economy of movement, not just for entertainment purposes. With one step, he creates a colossal amount of space. His coordination is extremely impressive considering his history of lower-body issues. He meticulously builds his game from the ground up to withstand any scrutiny.
Kawhi cannot be hurried, packed, or coached into a mistake. It’s undeniable that his style lacks any extravagance. When Leonard is in a zone, he moves with the confidence of the asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs. The semifinal change for inevitability is what?
“I believe he is accustomed to the crowded environment, so it may be beneficial to increase the level of discomfort,” Nikola Jokic said after the game. “He did succeed in making difficult shots, but are these really difficult for him?”
Denver might choose to more aggressively restrict Leonard, as it did in Game 1 at times. This might, however, result in James Harden and the Clippers getting open shots. But the Nuggets’ attempts to control Leonard personally and the consequent events make them prone to this kind of outburst.
“If we come and retrieve him and Norman [Powell] begins to play, and you are currently rotating to James in a closeout, you are playing a difficult game,” said David Adelman, the Nuggets interim head coach. “You are suggesting that open shots are accessible if you choose to strike him.” Though Kawhi won’t regularly score 15 of 19, he will make enough contested shots to challenge Denver’s will and create a foothold in an unpredictable series. The next two games will be crucial for Kawhi’s success.
One point separates the Nuggets and Clippers. Kawhi is creating series-changing baskets apparently out of nothing within that razor-thin edge. Think about how he was able to extract points from a botched drive that became a post-up in traffic, finally producing a turnaround jumper almost blocked by Gordon at release.
This by itself could support Denver’s approach. If Leonard is going to make improbable shots anyhow, maybe the Nuggets would be better suited trying to deny everyone else. Perhaps the 13 points from Powell, the 16 points from Ivica Zubac, or the one solo basket Kawhi set up for Ben Simmons against all odds had more bearing on Denver’s triumph than the 39 points from Leonard. Confining Kawhi to the cage, knowing he would probably destroy it, seems like the most rational line of action.
Even so, it’s easier to say that than to actually execute it. Seeing Leonard make challenged shot after disputed shot against an opponent can be demoralizing—the kind of gut strike that affects a team more than what shows on the scoreboard. It also explains why seeing Leonard feels so visceral for those who oppose him. Each trickle will cause panic if one sees enough of these projectiles.
Leonard performed a backpedaling Gordon with a stepback so exact that the Nuggets forward could only see the shot pass off during a fourth-quarter transition possession. It was brutal in simplicity, not quite as theatrical as the motions you would see from Harden or Jamal Murray.
Gordon and the Nuggets won’t be the only team struggling to transition to the next play; the cumulative impact of Kawhi’s shotmaking is difficult to feel. Any defense can handle living with an opponent going one-for-one; however, surviving 15 of 19 is quite another test. To negotiate this Kawhi Leonard for seven games, one must first accept what is to come.
Despite the Nuggets’ changes, Kawhi remains unstoppable; despite the necessary health-related restrictions in place, he continues to excel. His line of work is… It defines him, even after all these years and illnesses. Denver’s only way through the series is to come to terms with it as a natural fact.
