In the playoffs, a matchup with Kawhi Leonard is what everyone is scared of. Leonard is by far one of the most composed players with the lights bright, and when on a heat check, there’s a good chance he will not be the one going home. However, that fear has been elevated this season. He’s been the best player in the league over the last few months, and as a result, the West has gotten the message to avoid the LA Clippers by any means necessary.
On ‘The Hoop Collective,’ Tim Bontemps agreed with Leonard’s late dominance and highlighted how the two-time champion has been on the same level as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Nikola Jokic.
He’s right, and Leonard’s numbers of 30.0 points, 6.7 rebounds, 4.0 assists, and 2.0 steals, shooting 51.0% from the field and 39.1% from beyond the arc since Dec. 20, say so as well.
Kawhi Leonard is the playoff nightmare everyone should avoid, and history proves it
To the unlucky team that lands Kawhi Leonard and the LA Clippers in the first round, good luck. There is just no stopping him, whether you’re the best defense, the worst, or somewhere in between, as Leonard is gonna get to his sweet spots and score the ball, no matter what; it’s like clockwork.
Since last Friday, Leonard has cooked the San Antonio Spurs(3rd best defensive rating) for 30 points, the New York Knicks(7th best defensive rating) for 29, and the Minnesota Timberwolves(11th best defensive rating) for 45.
This is superhuman-type basketball, and Leonard is showing just the same effort defensively, with an array of highlights picking his opponents’ pockets, sprinting the floor, and flushing the rock through the iron.
But this is all regular-season talk. In the playoffs over the last few years, Leonard has torched the Dallas Mavericks (45 points in game six), Phoenix Suns (38 points in game one), and Denver Nuggets (39 points in game two) in just the first round.
History is on his side as someone who deserves to be feared in the Western Conference. The cherry on top is that there is a good chance it’ll be ten times worse this time around, given how dominant and well-conditioned he looks on both sides of the ball.
If there is a contender that thinks, even for a split second, that Leonard is on some kind of fluke, they will be delivered a trip to Cancun by the man himself.