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The Dallas Mavericks will be facing the Toronto Raptors later today, and head coach Rick Carlisle knows that they will be up against a team that has Kawhi Leonard, one of the best players in the league.
Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle with a lot of praise for Kawhi Leonard. Says if you don’t bring tenacity against him you’ll be in trouble. “He’s a tough matchup. One of the best in the game.” Lauds his diverse game, ability in clutch.
— Ryan Wolstat (@WolstatSun) January 27, 2019
A lot of pessimism surrounded Kawhi Leonard, especially after a lot of controversies last season that eventually led to his trade to the Raptors. He's also coming off a quad injury that sidelined him for the most part of the 2017-18 campaign.
He quickly erased those doubts and proved that he's still the same Kawhi that won a championship with the San Antonio Spurs despite donning a different jersey. Leonard is putting up 27.8 points, 7.9 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.9 steals per game this season while leading the Raptors in their neck-and-neck race with the Milwaukee Bucks for the top spot in the Eastern Conference standings.
Despite the fact that Toronto is on a two-game skid, they are still a very formidable team. Rick Carlisle believes that the Raps will be looking to go back to their winning ways against his Mavs, who haven't really been great this season.
The Mavs are currently 12th in the West standings and are five games behind the eighth-seeded LA Clippers. Luka Doncic, the team's prized rookie, has been carrying the team for most of the season, but it is clear that they do not have enough firepower to stand up against the best teams in the league.
It will be interesting to see what type of strategy the Mavs' head coach will employ to try to stop Leonard and the Raptors.
