Report: Warriors View Kawhi Leonard as Harder Matchup Than James Harden

Given his torrid postseason stretch, Toronto Raptors forward Kawhi Leonard is the centerpiece of serious debates regarding whether he'll be known as the NBA's best player if his team wins the NBA Finals against the Golden State Warriors, or even presently.

Therefore, it shouldn't be much of a surprise that the Warriors think he's a bigger matchup issue than Houston Rockets guard and 2017-18 NBA MVP James Harden, per the New York Times' Marc Stein.

"The Warriors, I'm told, unequivocally regard Leonard as a bigger individual problem than [Harden] because of Leonard's impact at both ends," Stein wrote Wednesday.

Leonard, who averaged 26.6 points per game this season, is a two-time Defensive Player of the Year.

Harden is the game's greatest scorer, averaging a league-leading 36.1 points per game this year. Defense isn't as much of a strong suit, although he did finish a respectable 28th in defensive real plus-minus among 102 qualified point guards, per ESPN.com.

Still, Leonard can guard anyone on the court outside a traditional big. He slowed down likely NBA MVP and Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo in the Eastern Conference Finals to the point where he scored five fewer points per game and shot 7.6 percent worse from the field than his regular-season averages.

And that could pose a problem for Warriors forward Kevin Durant, provided the 10-time All-Star makes an appearance at some point. Durant, who has been out with a right calf strain, traveled with the team to Toronto for the beginning of the NBA Finals. He's not expected to play for the beginning of the series, but the Warriors are hoping he'll be back at some point.

As for Leonard, he's been on fire no matter who he is facing in the playoffs, averaging 31.2 points, 8.8 rebounds and 1.6 steals per game. He should be a significant problem for Golden State on both ends.

Game 1 is Thursday at 9 p.m. ET in Toronto.