Kawhi Leonard has missed multiple games for the Toronto Raptors due to load management this season, with a variety of players starting in his absence. Who should get the nod going forward?
In an ideal world, this article wouldn’t exist, but it does. Kawhi Leonard has featured for the Toronto Raptors in 47 games this season, but he has missed 18 games due to injury or load management.
No issue should be taken with the Toronto Raptors front office being cautious with the health of Kawhi Leonard, the Raptors are on course for the second seed and are still within the grasp of the top seed. But they shouldn’t risk the health of Kawhi Leonard to get it.
That poses a question then: Who should start when Kawhi Leonard is resting?
Most recently, we saw Jeremy Lin start in place of Leonard against the Detroit Pistons. It didn’t go particularly well Lin finished 0-8 from the field and had just one point in the game. Taking him away from the bench unit deprived them of their main playmaker too, and thus the bench was outscored 38-31.
The Toronto Raptors have a plethora of options that can replace Kawhi in the starting lineup. The bench will inevitably suffer regardless of who it is though, but with Fred VanVleet currently out injured for at least two more weeks, the Raptors can’t afford to not have a playmaker on the bench. Kyle Lowry would need to have his minutes staggered more and spend more time with the bench, which would hurt the starting lineup.
Here are our four most likely options to start in place of Kawhi Leonard, starting with the least likely.