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Kawhi Leonard Flashes Necessary Offensive Assertiveness In Spurs Opener

By Cody Daniel

Oct 28, 2015; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; San Antonio Spurs forward Kawhi Leonard (2) drives to the basket against Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant (35) during the third quarter at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 28, 2015; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; San Antonio Spurs forward Kawhi Leonard (2) drives to the basket against Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant (35) during the third quarter at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports /
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The San Antonio Spurs are drawing nearer and nearer to the end of a historical era chaperoned by the greatest power forward in NBA history; Tim Duncan.

With the opening effort of his 18th, and quite possibly last, season gracing the NBA with pigeon-toed bank shots and emotionless celebrations in the books, the search for a new face to represent the winningest franchise in sports over the last decade and a half becomes an overturned hourglass.

That face may very well be accompanied by a noteworthy set of braids and some of the largest hands on God’s green Earth.

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If Kawhi Leonard has lacked any quality essential for the step into NBA superstardom, it’s offensive assertiveness to complement his reputation as a defensive menace.

Last season, in which Leonard accrued a career-high 16.5 points per contest, he did so on a mere 12.8 field goal attempts per game.

But with a Western Conference littered with prolific offenses headlined by two-headed scoring machines – such as the Splash Bros. in Golden State and Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook in Oklahoma City – the Spurs will surely need to replicate such potency in hopes of adding one more ring to Duncan’s hand before retirement.

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Despite trotting away with the acquisition of the offseason in LaMarcus Aldridge, one go-to scoring threat simply isn’t enough, which is where a seemingly newfound forcefulness from Leonard may prove quite beneficial.

Although a single game is a staggeringly, and quite laughable sample size to conclude anything from, it can be telling, nonetheless.

In San Antonio’s season opener, Leonard shot out of the gates with an eye on the rim, quickly establishing that the Spurs’ offense would flow through him, hitting 3-of-6 attempts in the first quarter and leading San Antonio in scoring at the half with 14 points on 6-of-11 shooting – five more attempts than any other Spur.

Leonard’s second-half success would be even more notable, as he would set a new career high in scoring with 32 points, which equaled the Spurs next three leading scorers – Aldridge (11), Manu Ginobili (11), and Tony Parker (10). His 22 field-goal attempts was also a new career high after previously never heaving more than 20 shots in any game.

And not only did Leonard establish himself as the offensive focal point right from the tip, but he did so in a tremendously efficient manner, connecting on 59 percent of his 22 looks. Unfortunately for Leonard, it came in a losing effort against none other than Durant and Westbrook, but dropping 10 more points than Durant while guarding him is an impressive feat, nonetheless.

This is the Kawhi Leonard San Antonio will require to raise its sixth championship banner on opening night next season. Depending on whom you ask, the Spurs are already considered the favorites to accomplish such a feat this season.

If Leonard can, in fact, translate this opening effort into a season-long performance, or even something remotely close to it, the case against San Antonio as favorites will be that much harder to support.

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