Kawhi Leonard’s masterful Sport 2 efficiency has the Denver Nuggets involved, with heart DeAndre Jordan acknowledging the troublesome problem of containing the two-time Finals MVP.
Kawhi Leonard powered the Los Angeles Clippers to an important 105-102 street victory, night the first-round sequence at 1-1 with a spectacular 39-point efficiency on otherworldly 78.9% taking pictures effectivity.
Jordan, showing on the Run It Again Podcast, expressed each admiration and concern about Leonard’s present type, evaluating it to his championship runs with earlier groups.
“I’ve seen Kawhi at San Antonio and in Toronto when he received in these locations, and a few individuals can’t do something about damage, I feel this yr he appears wonderful,” Jordan noticed.
“It felt like he didn’t miss a shot the opposite night time. He was extraordinarily environment friendly, we received to present totally different appears and throw various things at him, however Kawhi’s an amazing participant.”
The Nuggets veteran added a dose of realism about defending a locked-in Leonard: “You’ve received to reside with a few of the photographs that he makes.”
Leonard’s Sport 2 effectivity was really exceptional–an ideal 5-for-5 from the free-throw line whereas connecting on 5-of-7 makes an attempt from past the arc.
Even within the Clippers’ Sport 1 defeat, Leonard remained extremely productive with 22 factors on 60% taking pictures.
This stage of efficiency is paying homage to Leonard’s championship runs, the place he earned Finals MVP honors with each the San Antonio Spurs (2014) and Toronto Raptors (2019).
Kawhi’s capability to raise his recreation when the stakes are highest makes him notably harmful in playoff settings.
The Raptors championship in 2019 marked the franchise’s first title in group historical past–a blueprint the Clippers hope Leonard can replicate for his or her group that has by no means reached even the convention finals.
With the sequence shifting to Los Angeles for Video games 3 and 4, the defending champion Nuggets face mounting strain to develop an efficient technique towards Leonard.
If they can not include his offensive brilliance, Denver’s hopes of advancing might slip away regardless of having the reigning common season MVP in Nikola Jokic.
As Jordan candidly admitted, a few of Kawhi‘s shotmaking merely can’t be stopped–leaving Denver within the uncomfortable place of needing to excel in different areas to beat one of many league’s most feared playoff performers.
