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Kawhi Leonard was understandably shaking off some rust in the Toronto Raptors first preseason game. But Nick Nurse believes that his superstar player has successfully shaken off the rust from his preseason debut. Leonard tallied 17 points and five rebounds in 18 minutes on Tuesday against the Utah Jazz.
Preseason stats are irrelevant. More importantly, Nurse believes Kawhi is fully healthy ahead of his first season with the Raptors. He told Josh Lewenberg of TSN Sports:
Article Continues Below“We all saw he had a little rust on him opening night & he removed a big chunk of it (Tuesday). So I think that’s really encouraging. It was noticeable, the difference & I think he’s going to continue. He’s super healthy, he’s working like heck & he feels good.”
Leonard's health is one of the bigger question marks coming into this season. He sat out all but nine games last season and his mysterious quad injury was the impetus for his falling out with the San Antonio Spurs.
When healthy, Kawhi has the potential to be a top-5 player in the league. He's one of the most aggressive perimeter defenders in the league and his ability to carry an offense is often overlooked. Of course, developing chemistry is something Nurse and the Raptors coaching staff needs to focus on, but step one was always making sure that Kawhi returned fully healthy.
The Raptors have the potential to become a force in the Eastern Conference and Leonard has the opportunity to become the best player in the conference. But Leonard will need to be fully healthy for any of that to happen.
