Kawhi Leonard’s masterful Sport 2 efficiency has the Denver Nuggets involved, with middle DeAndre Jordan acknowledging the tough 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 collection at 1-1 with a spectacular 39-point efficiency on otherworldly 78.9% capturing effectivity.
Jordan, showing on the Run It Again Podcast, expressed each admiration and concern about Leonard’s present kind, 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 harm, I believe this 12 months he seems superb,” Jordan noticed.
“It felt like he didn’t miss a shot the opposite evening. He was extraordinarily environment friendly, we acquired to provide totally different seems 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 acquired to dwell with among the photographs that he makes.”
Leonard’s Sport 2 effectivity was really outstanding–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% capturing.
This degree of efficiency is harking back 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 potential to raise his sport when the stakes are highest makes him notably harmful in playoff settings.
The Raptors championship in 2019 marked the franchise’s first title in staff 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 collection shifting to Los Angeles for Video games 3 and 4, the defending champion Nuggets face mounting stress to develop an efficient technique in opposition to Leonard.
If they can’t 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.
