Toronto Raptors: Series will determine who the best player in the East is

The Eastern Conference Finals between the Toronto Raptors and Milwaukee Bucks features two of the best players in the NBA. The winner of the series will determine who the top player really is.

In the midst of a dogfight in the Eastern Conference Finals, the Toronto Raptors are leaning on Kawhi Leonard and one of the greatest postseason scoring runs of all-time.

Toronto trail the Milwaukee Bucks, who possess Giannis Antetokounmpo, 2-1 in the series and hope to tie it at two apiece following the double-overtime victory on Sunday night. Regardless of the outcome, the Raptors will surely look Leonard to carry the team in their hour of need.

Both teams are well equipped with talented rosters, but it’s the star player from each unit that could control the narrative of this series and beyond.

The MVP race looks to be a two-horse race between James Harden and Antetokounmpo, but Leonard has proved this postseason that he may well be the best player on the planet. Harden and the Houston Rockets were eliminated by the Golden State Warriors and their own merry band of superstars.

All of that talent exists out in the Wild West though. The East is a little top heavy and has been dominated by Leonard, Antetokounmpo, and Joel Embiid this postseason.

Now, only two of the three stars remain and they have set the bar for quality in the Eastern Conference and the whole of the NBA.

Leonard has averaged 32 points, 8.5 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per game on 63-percent true shooting in his 15 games for the Raptors this postseason. Antetokoumpo has equally impressed for the Bucks, averaging 26.1 points, 13 rebounds, and 4.8 assists on 58-percent true shooting.

The difference is, Antetokounmpo has played significantly fewer minutes than Leonard in the playoffs. The Raptors have played three more games than the Bucks, and because of that, Giannis has played only 355 minutes (32 minutes per game) compared to Leonard’s 528 total minutes (38.7 minutes per game).

Those numbers are down to the fact the Bucks have walked their way to the Conference Finals this year, dropping one game to the Boston Celtics and sweeping the Detroit Pistons in the process.

Milwaukee has, so far, looked like the more all-around complete team, with complementary pieces like Brook Lopez, Khris Middleton, and Malcolm Brogdon all stepping up at different points during their playoff run.

Meanwhile, the Raptors supporting cast has had a rather indifferent postseason so far. There hasn’t been one constant threat outside Leonard for Toronto. Kyle Lowry, Marc Gasol, and Pascal Siakam have all had big games in different spots but no one has been consistent enough to help Kawhi carry the load on a consistent basis.

Still, the winner of this series will come down to who the best player on the court is. That’s usually how it works.

Both Kawhi and Giannis have the power to take over a game at a moments notice, and while the Bucks have a 2-1 lead in the series, there’s everything still to play for. Someone is going to have to put their stamp on the game.

Whoever does, probably wins the series for their respective team. Kawhi guarded Giannis for much of Game 3, shutting him down entirely and scoring a game-high 36 points in the process. As it stands, Leonard has been the standout player of the series, and of the playoffs, but this is a different monster.

Giannis has cemented himself as the potential MVP of the regular season, but the winner of this series determines the best team in the Eastern Conference, and with it: the best player in the East.

Whoever can pull their team to victory in the next few games most likely deserves that accolade.