Jimmy Butler is one of the better perimeter defenders in the NBA, but even he could not stop Kawhi Leonard in the Toronto Raptors' 108-95 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday night.
Leonard erupted for 45 points, including 28 in the first half, converting on 16 of 23 field goal attempts and attacking Butler repeatedly.
The Sixers seemed hopeless in stopping Leonard or Pascal Siakam, but Butler told Michael Lee of The Athletic that he needs to just continue to force Leonard to make tough shots and get into his shooting space:
“Keep doing what I’m doing. Along with everybody else. All you can do is contest shots. He’s a hell of a player. We all know that,” Butler said of how he plans to counter Leonard in Game 2. “We’ve just got to be more aggressive with everybody on the defensive end.”
“It’s only one ball game. The series is not over.”
Getting more aggressive on the defensive side of the ball is an understatement for what Philadelphia must do in Game 2. The Sixers are mostly counting on Butler and Tobias Harris to take Leonard and Siakam one-on-one, rather than taking a team defense approach.
Considering Kyle Lowry's history of playoff struggles, it might be more effective for Philly to make him beat them rather than Leonard, who has already established a lengthy pedigree of playoff success and a knack for making clutch plays.
Mirroring Ben Simmons on Leonard may not hurt, either. Butler efforts to contain Leonard seemed to gas him on the offensive end, as he shot just 4 of 12 from the field.
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