ESPN's Stephen A. Smith shared his thoughts on how Kawhi Leonard and the Toronto Raptors have flipped the tables on the Milwaukee Bucks, bouncing back from an 0-2 hole and putting the frontrunner for the last spot in the NBA Finals on the brink of elimination. Smith wasn't shy about eating a nice slice of humble pie on national television, claiming Leonard and the Raptors have made him and many look like absolute idiots.
“What I've watched the Toronto Raptors do, mainly led by coach Nick Nurse and obviously the star player that is Kawhi Leonard, is make all of us — including myself — look like absolute, positive idiots. That's really what it comes down to.
“Kawhi Leonard is just on another level and everybody else is just spectating, that's really what it comes down to in this particular series.”
Leonard has stepped up his play, despite being obviously bothered by a leg injury — playing his best basketball at both ends of the floor and doing so tirelessly — having played 40 or more minutes in three of the last five games.
It wasn't long ago that Leonard was in a load management program, hoping to save his legs for the playoffs. It might have not been enough, considering he played 12 games before the Eastern Conference Finals, including a heavy-legged best-of-seven series against the Philadelphia 76ers that came down to the very last bounce of his fallaway shot.
Leonard has put on the cape and pushed through, despite the mileage and pain, containing the Bucks' best player in Giannis Antetokounmpo, while doing some magic of his own on offense, leading the Raptors in scoring with an average of 30.4 points per game this series.
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