Toronto Raptors head coach Nick Nurse says he doesn't anticipate a lot of load managing for his team down the stretch of the regular season.
Raptors star small forward Kawhi Leonard has sat out a few games hear and there for load management. Toronto has been careful with their superstar all season after how his season transpired last year with the San Antonio Spurs.
Nurse says he doesn't anticipate a lot of load managing for his team down the stretch of the regular season. "We've had so many injuries that we've load managed ourselves into perfect load management."
— Josh Lewenberg (@JLew1050) March 5, 2019
The Raptors entered Tuesday's showdown with the Houston Rockets with a record of 46-18, which is good for second place in the Eastern Conference standings. Having a healthy and fresh Leonard for the playoffs gives Toronto its best chance to advance to the NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history.
In his first season with the Raptors, Leonard has been simply phenomenal. The two-time Defensive Player of the Year is averaging 27.0 points, 7.5 rebounds and 3.3 assists while shooting 49.4 percent from the field, 35.9 percent from beyond the arc and 86.6 percent from the free-throw line.
Leonard, point guard Kyle Lowry and newly acquired All-Star center Marc Gasol are the three key players for the Raptors once the postseason starts. It's vital for Toronto that those three players play at a high level in the playoffs, and managing Leonard's minutes in the regular season was a good way to make sure Kawhi is crisp when it matters most.
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