Kawhi Leonard: Believing the hype

Kawhi Leonard #2 of the San Antonio Spurs attempts a rebound during Game Seven of the 2013 NBA Finals on June 20, 2013 at the American Airlines Arena in Miami

Most importantly, if one were to recall, it was Danny Green who was supposed to be the side-kick and the additional scoring punch beyond the Big Three. Some even had him hyped us as the potential Finals MVP. While Green had his off-nights when the Spurs needed him the most, Leonard chose to hustle and fight his way through. He wasn’t shooting the ball very well, so he found different ways to score and be effective. He didn’t settle on the perimeter jump-shots. He was ready to crash the boards and earn second-chance opportunities, showcased his rapidly improving mid-range game and his newest addition, the floater and the hook shot in the paint. He made many clutch fourth quarter buckets and with Duncan and Parker failing to get their offence going, he single-handedly was responsible to keep the Spurs in the game.

While the growth and the maturity are apparent, there is still a lot that Leonard has to do before he can legitimately stand true to Popovich’s claims of being the next face of the franchise. He needs to develop a post-up game, and maybe improve on his pick-and-roll defence; two qualities that were exploited heavily by the Heat and coach Spoelstra. In Game-6 and Game-7, the Heat manned up LeBron James against Parker and that left the much smaller Chalmers on Leonard.

Heat could take that risk, because they knew that Leonard didn’t have a post-up game to punish Chalmers and take advantage of the mismatch. Further, Leonard was often found wanting when the Heat went on the 1-3 pick-and-roll with LeBron and Chalmers. He didn’t know when to step out and block Chalmers, and when to stay home and deny the pocket pass off the roll to LeBron. The Heat used this strategy to great effect as LeBron earned some very easy looks and open lanes to exploit. Leonard may have defied LeBron by staying back and giving him the freedom to take the perimeter and mid-range jumper, while blocking out his dribble penetration and keeping him off the paint, but on the pick-and-roll he just seemed too confused to take decisions and the Spurs were made to pay heavily.

However, the prospect, the heart, the desire and the promise is evident in Leonard’s game and considering the bargain deal the Spurs had with him, he may very well be one of the best steals ever. The Spurs franchise has put all their faith and hope on Leonard evolving into a legitimate Superstar. He is still far from being the finished article but with the game evolving into a run-and-gun mode, energy players like Leonard can very much be the face of the league in the near future. It is about time that one starts to believe the hype.