NBA MVP race looks to be wide open in reshuffled league hierarchy

Kawhi Leonard brings two NBA Finals trophies with him to the LA Clippers this season, but can Board Man ever put together enough of a regular-season resume to win the NBA MVP award?

The Toronto Raptors played the long game with Leonard last season, playing him in just 60 games during the regular season, never playing him in both ends of a back-to-back, in order to preserve him for what turned out to be an epic playoff run.

Leonard averaged 30.5 points, 9.1 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.7 steals in a whopping 39.1 minutes per game during Toronto’s march to its first NBA championship, playing in all 24 of the Raptors’ games during the postseason.

He was pretty darned good when available during the regular year, too, putting up 26.6 points, 7.3 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.8 steals in 34.0 minutes per game. while shooting 49.6 percent overall and 37.1 percent on 5.0 3-point looks a game.

As to the question of whether he can play enough to make a serious charge at the regular-season MVP honor, Clippers coach Doc Rivers said on Saturday per the Orange County Register that LA would not be as aggressive in Leonard’s load management this season as the Raptors were.

However, he quickly added:

"“That’ll be played out by smarter guys than me.”"

So it’s likely Rivers won’t have a lot of control over when Leonard plays and when he is inactive.

The Clips are the prohibitive favorites to win the title this season — a big ask for a franchise that has not gotten past the conference semifinals in its first 49 seasons of existence — and Leonard will be a big part of any playoff run.

But given his fragility, that might mean sacrificing some regular-season playing time to ensure The Claw can do his thing in the spring.