Kawhi Leonard’s disposition in the aftermath of the Clippers’ match the other day wasn’t that of a proud competitor who just had his worst outing of the season. In fact, he was decidedly upbeat, clearly an offshoot of the outcome. For all his travails, he helped carve victory in his new digs at the expense of the Raptors, his immediate past teammates. They had, and still have, relationships outside the court that made, and make, results on it matter. And, even on a night where he made just two of 11 shots and could have had a tainted quadruple-double had he committed another turnover with an assist, the bragging rights were his.
Indeed, the Raptors were feisty from opening tip, making a go of the set-to despite missing vital cogs Kyle Lowry and Serge Ibaka. They were on the second of a back-to-back set, and yet remained spry and alert, no doubt buoyed by the still-fresh memory of their success against the Lakers and motivated to get the better of Leonard. They were determined to go two of two at the Staples Center, in the process showing up the star who led them to the championship last season, and who then still found cause to leave them as soon as he could.
In the end, however, there could be no overcoming the Clippers‘ superiority in talent — and not merely when compared to the Raptors. They’re better against just about all the others in the league, well coached and boasting of depth and confidence borne of proven mettle; they didn’t go deep in the loaded West last season for nothing. And if they’re bent on claiming the hardware this time around, it’s because they have Leonard, arguably the National Basketball Association’s best of the best.
Here’s the scary part: The Clippers still have higher gears on tap. All-Star Paul George is close to returning to action; once he does and gets his bearings back, look out. His partnership with Leonard has the potential to trump that of the Lakers’ LeBron James and Anthony Davis. The Raptors came up with a good formula to contain them the other day. Unfortunately, it didn’t work. And absent the element of surprise, it’s bound to fail the next time around. They’re that good, and they’ll be even better — make that much, much better.
Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994. He is a consultant on strategic planning, operations and Human Resources management, corporate communications, and business development.
