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The Toronto Raptors and superstar forward Kawhi Leonard evened the team's ongoing series against the Philadelphia 76ers. The Eastern Conference semifinals are knotted up at two games apiece after Leonard and company took Game 4 on the road in Philadelphia, 101-96, regaining some much-needed momentum.
It appears as though Leonard realizes that advancing to the next round will not be an easy task; the 76ers have the former San Antonio Spurs standout “breaking a sweat.”
Kawhi Leonard, asked about him scoring without looking like he's breaking a sweat: "That's not fair to the Sixers. I'm definitely breaking a sweat."
— Derek Bodner (@DerekBodnerNBA) May 5, 2019
However, this hardly comes as a surprise as the 76ers and head coach Brett Brown entered the series looking to make Leonard work extremely hard to score and pass the basketball to his Raptors teammates. In order to successfully do that, Brown stated prior to Game 1 of the series that several different 76ers players would guard Leonard throughout a given game.
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“We have the ability to have multiple people guard Kawhi,” Brown previously said, via Philly.com. “So it will be wrong to assume that is [76ers point guard Ben] Simmons’] matchup for the series.”
Of course, that is a lot easier said than done as Leonard pretty much does whatever he wants on the court these days. Although impressing throughout his time in San Antonio as a member of the aforementioned Spurs, the seasoned swingman seems to have really taken it up a notch since arriving north of the border with the Raptors.
As for the Raptors and 76ers from a team aspect, the winner of this series won't encounter any easier of a matchup regardless of who advances on the other side. Whether it is the Milwaukee Bucks or Boston Celtics, the Raptors and 76ers will surely have their hands full going forward.
