San Antonio Spurs: Kawhi Leonard Making The Leap
A New Kind Of Spur
When the San Antonio Spurs acquired LaMarcus Aldridge, the only (tiny) potential concern that anyone could come up with was how his ball-stopper tendencies would mesh with an offense that thrives on ball movement, cuts and seamless team chemistry.
There’s not a lot of room in San Antonio for the kind of one-on-one play that Aldridge has thrived on for years now. Over the last decade, the Spurs have only had three players reach the 20 points per game threshold in a season: Tony Parker in 2012-13, Parker again in 2008-09 and Tim Duncan in 2006-07. That’s it.
Aldridge (16.0 PPG, 9.0 RPG, 44.6 FG%) could easily become the fourth, but early on, it appears that that designation will go to Kawhi Leonard.
Pop ATO iso for Leonard. He's serious about giving him more offensive responsibility. Drains a dirk fade
— Nate Duncan (@NateDuncanNBA) November 12, 2014
The Spurs loathe iso-ball, but Pop places special trust in some of his players to make plays. We’ve seen Manu Ginobili earn a longer leash over the years and all-time greats like Tim Duncan and Tony Parker have had a little more freedom over the years since they fully buy into the system.
But it’s not outlandish to think that Kawhi Leonard is a new breed of Spur: someone who can put up superstar numbers while also staying true to the system that’s made San Antonio dangerous for decades. That would be something we haven’t seen since Duncan when he was back in his prime, but there’s a very good chance that Leonard gets a little more leeway as an iso-scorer, a lot like we saw in the playoffs last year.
Next: The Future