After one Toronto Raptors preseason game against a defending champion New York Knicks resting its starters, one thing is clear: King Arthur isn’t the only Once and Future King; Kawhi Leonard has risen again to jostle for that title. And if Leonard’s performance in his 16 minutes against the Knicks is to be believed, that won’t be the only title for which he’s about to battle.
When the dust settled on his first stint, Leonard had played just over five minutes, scored seven points, and gathered a pair of steals. The team was looking for him, perhaps too much, on the offensive end. And defensively he was clearly just another shark among the shiver.
Toronto looked somewhat tentative to start, trying to feel out the new relationship.
The fireworks came to end the first half. Leonard finally shared the floor with Barnes and Collin Murray-Boyles. And as on the defensive end earlier, Leonard was only another lion in the pride. In fact, it was Murray-Boyles who moonlighted as the leader. He tossed in a two-handed putback Falcon Punch dunk, later threw in a pull-up triple. Murray-Boyles led Toronto in rebounding, winning offensive boards in scrums and high-pointing defensive boards above the crowd. He looked strong and bouncy and altogether physically electric. He represented the flourish of excitement.
Meanwhile, Leonard was stolid. He didn’t have the highs of Murray-Boyles, but it was his impassive consistency that allowed his teammates to thrive. He was the canvas, the chisel, the necessary condition.
Leonard sealed early in transition, drew free throws. He hit jumpers in the post. He trailed the play in transition and hit triples. At times, he did nothing: simply standing in the corner meant his defender couldn’t, wouldn’t, help away from him, opening space for RJ Barrett to snake pick and rolls and create layups, or Barnes to catch in the middle of the floor and calmly rise for an uncontested jumper. It’s preseason, and the New York Knicks were not an NBA basketball team, but it’s clear that opponents fear Leonard in a visceral, tangible way that they haven’t feared a Raptor since, well, him.
He isn’t just another wolf in the pack. He is, but he isn’t. Because of him, the other wolves were faster, stronger, deadlier. Barnes finished the first half shooting 7-of-8 from the field, seeing less defensive attention than he has since his rookie season. Murray-Boyles one-upped him, going a perfect 4-of-4. Barrett shot 6-of-9 and proved to be nothing if not Daft Punk (Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger).
Leonard led it all with a mature and aspirational 21 points in 16 easy minutes. Despite not playing in the second half, Leonard’s 21 remained the high for Toronto.
On the other end, it was clear what an upgrade Leonard represents as compared to Brandon Ingram. On his very first defensive play of the game, Jose Alvarado drove into the paint and hesitating, watching the pterodactylic Barnes as the helper. Leonard, under the rim and surely too far away to bother Alvarado, saw his attention elsewhere and simply reached his Inspector Gadget arm into the pocket to rip away the ball. He switched onto the ball and moved it elsewhere. (The Knicks feared Leonard on the defensive end, moving the ball away from him as much as possible.)
And Leonard bought into Toronto’s defensive philosophy, constantly attacking the ball whenever he could. He forced countless negative dribbles. At one point, he forced his man off the ball, who pivoted into screening to get Leonard away from him. Leonard simply jumped up to double the ball screen, forcing the handler back to the half court line, and Alijah Martin stole the panicked pass attempt to get the ball the hell away from Leonard.
In the second half, Toronto continued the avalanche. Leonard was no longer another boulder charting down the mountain, but the remainder of the boulders charged nonetheless. Ja’Kobe Walter hit triple after triple, including a highlight steal on a blind double that led to him stepping into a deep transition bomb the other way. Murray-Boyles cut well around the paint and hit some push shots and floaters after making himself available to drivers, just like Poeltl so regularly does. He even dunked over bigs after driving from above the break for good measure. He tipped away a pass, ran the floor, sealed, and drew free throws. And just to prove that it wasn’t just Leonard buoying his efficiency, he finished the game perfect from the field, too.
The Raptors were playing a G-League roster. The only takeaway there is that this team is happy to step on a neck from time to time. They delighted in running up the score. Sure, the win meant nothing. But preseason wins mean nothing anyway. This contest was one defined by the relationship between Leonard and the Raptors. It’s been one game. One meaningless game.
And the future looks so bright it’s blinding.
