Kawhi Leonard's Quiet Game 4 a Missed Opportunity to Make Superstar Statement
HOUSTON — Especially because Kawhi Leonard doesn't give us anything off the court, we need momentous feats from him on the court.
That's how you are supposed to build a legend anyway, with substance ahead of style, and we're at the point in Leonard's career where we can rightly consider the possibility of legend.
He is that great of a player, even though no one ever puts any pressure on him to do anything because of how well Gregg Popovich and the Spurs keep him secluded in San Antonio and out of all spotlights.
Every dribble, shot or spoken word Russell Westbrook put forth was scrutinized and overanalyzed in Oklahoma City's first-round series loss to James Harden's favored Houston Rockets.
It's only fair to view every important game Leonard is playing as a referendum on his excellence, too. (Perhaps it's even more apt than with Westbrook or Harden when one considers Leonard is the one with the fuller file of playoff accomplishments.)
So, yes, let it be said flat-out that Leonard, now facing those same Rockets that put Westbrook under the microscope in Round 1, disappointed Sunday night in a 125-104 loss that evened the series at two wins apiece.
With a rather pedestrian 16 points, six rebounds and four assists, Leonard missed a wonderful chance to build his legend, and he should be called on it.
He played quite well in San Antonio's Game 3 victory in Houston to take the series lead, but the clear storyline there was the Rockets' uncharacteristically skittish play on offense. Mike D'Antoni practically scoffed as he cited his team missing 21 of 24 "wide-open" three-pointers.
D'Antoni knew his shooters would fire back in Game 4, and so did Popovich—which is why he chose to sic Leonard much more on Harden as the primary defender, hoping to keep Houston's offense out of sync.
The stage was set for a titanic effort at both ends in a road game Leonard's team wasn't expected to win. That's precisely the sort of individual dragon-slaying dominance that awes all fans and inspires every teammate to believe that a championship is possible with such a superstar.
He did not deliver anything close to that Sunday.
Regardless of whether you agree it's fair to expect that type of performance, you have to acknowledge that if he'd all but stomped the life out of a team that hadn't lost back-to-back home games all season in this D'Antoni renaissance, the impact would've resonated across the playoff landscape.
Leonard was still special at times, of course. The rebounds few others could secure, the body control in traffic, the defensive presence that still was able to disrupt Harden. He was effective even though he spent most of his time on the bench with a heating pad pressed to his right knee.
But this was a game that required a certain level of cutthroat intensity to go get. Instead, it was a game that began with Leonard dribbling aimlessly into a double-team and losing the ball…prompting Popovich to throw his palms up on the bench and look to assistants Ettore Messina and Ime Udoka for any explanation…even before Harden set up Patrick Beverley for a three-pointer at the other end.
Houston never lost that lead, not even in a single tie. It was that much of a breeze, the Rockets playing to their pace and easily winning by 21 points.
Leonard is capable of total domination, make no mistake.
He had 43 points, eight rebounds, three assists, six steals and was utterly amazing late in Game 4 of the previous round—a similar situation where the Spurs could've seized a 3-1 series lead on the road. Leonard was everywhere on defense and scored 16 consecutive points to close regulation, with clutch shots late in the fourth and in overtime, but he came up just short in Memphis.
He was excellent again back on the road to close that series in Game 6. That said, find me a casual NBA fan who watched that Memphis-San Antonio series, and I'll show you someone whose cellphone has a 901 or 210 area code. (And everyone reading this is just going to have to take my word for it that those are the Memphis and San Antonio area codes, because why would anyone know them?)
To build a legend, you need playoff games where you simply will your team to a win under the brightest lights. The Rockets and Harden offered the Spurs and Leonard just such a chance—but it's now 2-2 with Leonard offering modest resistance.
Manu Ginobili lamented missing a "great opportunity to go back to San Antonio, 3-1. … Started a little slow, and many letdowns."
So far, all that has really happened in the playoffs is the two teams with the superior talent are again earning their peers' respect with their championship drive.
"You see what the Warriors and Cavaliers are doing in other series: They're playing with that edge," said Pau Gasol, Leonard's teammate who has championship experience and firsthand understanding of championship will from his years alongside Kobe Bryant in L.A. "They're going out there every day and pretty much sweeping every team they're facing. It's something to keep an eye on. We want to be the same way."
For the Spurs—and not the Warriors or Cavaliers—to stand on top at the end of this, it's going to take an epic postseason from Leonard.
Maybe we should all be happy with who Leonard is at age 25. He beat out LeBron James for second place in the MVP voting last season, and Leonard was the equivalent of a heralded, anti-establishment independent candidate in this year's heavily debated race. And he has a Spurs team now without Tony Parker and trying to find some consistency from LaMarcus Aldridge in position to reach the conference finals.
But after six seasons in the league, someone with Leonard's drive on the court should aspire to be more.
As Leonard headed out of the Toyota Center with the Game 4 loss, he had an iPad in hand, obviously ready to review video for every possible area in need of improvement.
Otherwise, there he was, very briefly Sunday night after the game, typically hard to reach.
The Spurs' public relations director warned everyone in the locker room that Leonard would only submit to "real quick" postgame media availability—role player Patty Mills was the Spurs' player spokesman sent to the more public podium—of no more than two minutes. Leonard said little of substance, basically agreeing with every reporter's stock premise, and he was on his way in exactly the low-profile way he prefers.
He's only ever going to win us all over with his performances.
And if they are magical enough, it'll only further the legend that Leonard insists on being so mysterious off the court. We'll keep yearning for the human connection he won't give us.
The question is whether he can inspire us on the court to such heroic proportions—leaving us no choice but to care about this man of supreme talent and supreme mystery.
Kevin Ding is an NBA senior writer for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter, @KevinDing.
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