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Kawhi Leonard is playing at an extremely high level in this year's playoffs, and he has led the Toronto Raptors to the brink of reaching the Eastern Conference Finals. He's averaging 31.2 points while shooting over 57 percent through 10 games in the postseason.
His efficiency on offense has been historically outstanding:
Kawhi Leonard is first player in NBA history to score at least 300 points on fewer than 200 field-goals attempted through the first 10 games of a single postseason.
— Justin Kubatko (@jkubatko) May 8, 2019
While many view Golden State Warriors star Kevin Durant and Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo as the best players in the NBA at this current moment, Leonard is starting to remind everyone that he deserves to be in such conversations, and he's doing it in a way only he knows how: Quiet but efficient.
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The Raptors had a lot of doubters, especially when they lost Game 1 of the first round against the Orlando Magic, but after their dominating performance against the Philadelphia 76ers in Game 5, they now look like a clear threat to make the NBA Finals.
Leonard is the main reason for that.
Of course, the Raptors still have a long way to go and still have several issues to fix, one of which is the inconsistency of players like Kyle Lowry. As they go deeper into the playoffs, these problems may be exposed. They cannot afford to rely on Leonard alone, no matter how impressive he has been.
Toronto took a risk when it traded DeMar DeRozan to the San Antonio Spurs in exchange for Kawhi Leonard last summer, and it seems that the gamble was worth it. The All-Star forward is capable of leading the Raptors to a championship, something they have yet to see throughout their franchise's existence.
