Kawhi Leonard of the Toronto Raptors will likely sit out on Thursday's game against the New York Knicks. Per Josh Lewenberg of TSN Sports, the Raptors have listed the 27-year-old as ‘out.'
Looks like Kawhi Leonard will get a load management night against the 14-win Knicks in New York tomorrow. The Raptors have already listed him as OUT on the early injury report. OG Anunoby isn't listed. Doesn't mean he'll play necessarily, but it's encouraging.
— Josh Lewenberg (@JLew1050) March 28, 2019
This is a precautionary measure taken by the Raptors. With seven games remaining in their schedule, they'll likely seal the second seed in the Eastern Conference. As of writing, they have a 52-23 record. They are four games behind the Milwaukee Bucks and four and a half games above the Philadelphia 76ers. Besides, they'll be taking on a Knicks team who has only logged in 14 wins in the season. It should be an easy win even without their best player.
It's been one hell of a season for the Raptors. To recall, they fired longtime head coach Dwayne Casey right after the playoffs and replaced him with assistant coach Nick Nurse. They also sealed a controversial blockbuster trade — sending all-star DeMar DeRozan to the San Antonio Spurs in exchange for Leonard.
Usually, when a team undergoes big changes like that, they take time to develop into one cohesive unit again. Not to mention the risk they took when they acquired Leonard who listed Los Angeles, preferably the Lakers, as his desired team. But as it turned out, Leonard has been more of a plus than a minus for a team.
Now, various reports revealed that the Raptors are gaining confidence that Leonard will ink a longterm deal with them. If so, their offseason trade might go down as one of the best deals in NBA history. Will the Raptors finally make it to the NBA Finals this year for the first time in franchise history?
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