Believing in the Toronto Raptors as a potential title contender this season means believing that Kawhi Leonard can stay healthy for most of the regular season and several playoff series. Given his recent lack of postseason availability and success, it’s a bold bet.
But the Raptors were willing to take the risk, and they are getting the full Kawhi Leonard experience early on. He sat out the team’s third game of the season with a knee issue. ESPN’s Shams Charania reported earlier today that Leonard is ”expected to miss a period of weeks due to swelling in his left knee.”
For Zach Lowe, Leonard’s early-season absence is just more proof that the Raptors cannot be trusted as a championship contender.
“It took three games of the Toronto Raptors’ season for Kawhi to miss, surprisingly, a game with knee swelling,” Lowe said on the October 26 episode of the Zach Lowe Show. “If you needed a reminder of why, as high as I was on the Raptors as a regular-season team, I could not pick them to win three playoff rounds in the Eastern Conference, we got it three games into the season. I just can’t rely on Kawhi Leonard to stay healthy long-term.”
And that was before the news broke that Leonard would miss much more than just the one game.
The Raptors have a lot to fix from their first game without Leonard
Kawhi Leonard didn’t get off to a very efficient start with the Raptors. He shot just 29.4% from the field in the season opener and 35% in the second game. Nevertheless, he put up solid scoring numbers, and defenses have to respect him as one of the most dangerous scoring threats in the league.
The Raptors’ first game without him was anything but pretty. The Minnesota Timberwolves blew them out 117-94. The Raptors shot 38% from the field and 26% on 3-pointers, conceded 23 points off turnovers, and allowed the Timberwolves to shoot 56% from the field. Scottie Barnes was unable to step up in Leonard’s absence, finishing the game with 0 points on 0-of-12 shooting from the field, 3 measly rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 turnovers.
Ja’Kobe Walter was one of the few bright spots in the game. He was responsible for half of the Raptors’ ten made 3-pointers and finished the game with a team-high 22 points along with 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, and 1 block. Moreover, rookie Allen Graves led the bench in scoring with 11 points. He also grabbed four offensive rebounds (six total) and dished out four assists.
Other than that, it was a thoroughly ugly game, and the Raptors have a lot to learn from it.
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