How strong is the small card that led the Raptors to win the first championship in team history in 19?
Preface
The blockbuster trade between the Pacers and the Raptors has once again made the transfer market lively. And with the 5-for-1 deal officially completed, Siakam became a member of the Pacers. So far, the Raptors who won the first championship in team history in 2019, the starting five Tigers have all left the team.
The 2018-19 season is believed to be a short but grand dream for all Raptors fans. And the beginning of this dream has to start with the 2018 offseason.
Goodbye Spurs, hello Raptors!
In the 2018 offseason, when teams were racing for the upcoming season, the news spread throughout basketball circles that Leonard had announced his departure from the Spurs. As a player from the Spurs draft, Leonard ushered in the pinnacle of his career when he debuted, and in 2014, he won the FMVP trophy as an unknown player, and the league has a place in the league like a cold-faced killer.
The Spurs were naturally ecstatic, knowing that when the GDP team officially retired, Leonard would be the core member of the team for the next decade. But everything turned out far beyond people's expectations, and after the "stepping incident" in the playoffs, Leonard split with the Spurs while recovering from an injury. At the time, there were different opinions about the reason why he chose to leave the team, but regardless of the truth, the Spurs couldn't keep the bird who wanted to fly away.
As soon as the news came out, the other 29 teams in the alliance naturally moved when they heard the news, and they were all trying their best to get the league's first-class striker. Lakers, Celtics, 76ers and other giants have thrown olive branches, and in the end, the Spurs chose to accept offers from the Raptors. In this way, the Raptors successfully brought Leonard to Toronto at the price of DeRozan + Poeltl + a first-round pick.
When the Raptors officially announced Leonard's arrival, the whole of Toronto was boiling, and they were eager for Leonard to bring a bigger surprise to the team. And Leonard did not live up to everyone's expectations, he spent a season leading the Raptors and the team's fans to have a fairytale dream together.
No need to run in, take off directly
Before Leonard's arrival, Lowry + DeRozan's garbage brothers had led the Raptors to a very good record, but they couldn't go further in the playoffs. So when Leonard came to the team, the Raptors had a very complete roster, and what was missing was his star.
At this time, in the Raptors, Siakam and Anunoby are still in the growth period, and Lowry and Ibaka are both veterans who have been in the battle for a long time. Leonard's joining is to change this classic car with an engine that is not inferior to a supercar. However, many people are still worried, after all, Leonard has been out of the squad for a long time due to injury, but after the start of the regular season, everyone found that all these doubts are too unnecessary.
In order to avoid overusing Leonard, the coaching staff still let him combine work and rest. In the end, Leonard played in 60 games in the regular season, averaging 32.4 minutes per game, contributing 27.1 points (8th in the league), 7.1 rebounds, 4.9 assists, 1.8 steals (6th in the league), and shooting 47.0%. In the end, the Raptors easily advanced to the playoffs with the second-place record in the East (58-24).
Defeat the magic and try your hand at it
In the first round of the playoffs, face the Magic led by Gordon. In G1's home game, the Raptors really made the fans break out in a cold sweat. After the fierce battle for four quarters, the 101-104 defeat to the Magic broke out a big upset. Although the Raptors performed well overall, they couldn't stand the Magic's whole team with 7 people scoring double-doubles.
The G2 Raptors have never made a comeback, and this time they didn't give the Magic any more chances, and they firmly controlled the pace of the game from the first quarter. In the end, the Raptors ushered in a big victory at home 111-82. Leonard, on the other hand, scored a game-high 37 points on 68.2% shooting.
In the next few games, the Raptors took advantage of the victory to chase and finally advanced to the semifinals with a big score of 4-1. Except for the cold hand in G3, Leonard played very efficiently in the other four games.
At the end of the first-round series, Leonard shot 55.6 percent from the field, averaging 27.8 points, 6.6 rebounds, 3.0 assists per game, and also shooting 53.8 percent from three-point range. Playing the Magic is just a small test, and facing the 76ers in the semifinals is the beginning of the real test for the Raptors and Leonard.
Seven fierce battles, 76 people were killed
In the first round, the 76ers also eliminated the Nets with a score of 4-1, and the 76ers were on par with the Raptors in terms of lineup and player strength. Simmons, Embiid, and Butler are all in their prime, and everyone knows that the next battle will begin.
G1 was playing at home, and Leonard, who was feeling hot, gave the 76ers a blow in the head. He hit a terrifying 69.6 percent shooting percentage and scored a programmatic mid-range shot that directly destroyed the 76ers' defense. In the end, Leonard contributed 45 points, 11 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals to help the Raptors take the lead.
In the G2 matchup, Leonard continued his full game form, scoring a game-high 35 points, and also contributed 7 rebounds and 6 assists. It's a pity that in addition to Leonard, Sika, and Lowry, the three main players of the Raptors performed well, and the others couldn't find the shooting feeling at all, and the shooting rate of Jr. and Green was less than 20%. The 76ers blossomed more, and in the end, the Raptors were tied by the opponent 89-94.
G3 is almost a replica of G2, with Leonard scoring a game-high 33 points on 59.1% shooting. However, the bench and other main players still did not perform well, and the 76ers returned to the home court, with six of them scoring in double figures to eventually beat the Raptors by 21 points at home.
G4's Leonard is still brave, and no matter what tactics and defenders the 76ers change, they can't stop Leonard from scoring points. He scored a game-high 39 points on 65.0 percent shooting, along with 14 rebounds and five assists, and with his offensive and defensive play, the Raptors beat the 76ers 101-96, and the two sides returned to the same running line.
The next two games were won by both sides again, and the game entered the final tie-break, and this one was born enough to go down in the history of the NBA. Both sides knew that there was no way back in this game, and the direct defensive confrontation was full after the game began. Unfortunately, Leonard's teammates pulled their hips again, and the remaining four who started hardly showed much. For the 76ers, five more players scored double-doubles.
In the final moments of the game, the Raptors' final attack was in the hands of Leonard, and the team was still behind. In the end, under Embiid's block, Leonard made a shot to the extreme, and the ball stumbled into the net after a few stumbles. In 4.2 seconds, Leonard successfully staged a stunner. And after the game, Embiid couldn't help but cry loudly in the players' tunnel.
In addition to the stunner, Leonard's performance was equally flawless. He shot 41.0 percent from the field and contributed 41 points, eight rebounds, three assists and three steals.
In this series, Leonard fully showed his killer nature. Even when he was targeted by the 76ers, he was always able to complete the offensive mission. After the whole round, he shot 53.0% from the field, contributed 34.7 points, 9.9 rebounds, and 4.0 assists per game, playing the most representative round of the playoffs of his career.
Brother Alphabet, I'll defend it
Facing the Bucks in the East Showdown, it was naturally another round of fierce battles. G1 and G2 Leonard still have a stable performance, but the problem is that Brother Alphabet is also a big bug on the offensive end, and with the interior defense of several Raptors veterans, it is impossible to block the attack of this Greek beast. In both games, Brother Alphabet did whatever he wanted on the inside, and the Raptors fell behind 0-2.
So before the start of G3, Leonard took the initiative to take responsibility, and he wanted to defend himself against Brother Alphabet. This is the responsibility and courage of a star, since your ace is so powerful, then let's have an ace vs. ace battle! So from G3 onwards, locking the beast has become Leonard's top priority.
As the league's top defender, G3 Leonard made Brother Alphabet experience the pain of James back then. Under Leonard's death-wrapped defense, Brother Alphabet's shooting percentage began to drop rapidly, and there was no way to make more moves to get rid of the ball after receiving it. Under Leonard's restrictions, he only shot 5 of 16 in this game, and his shooting percentage dropped directly to 31.3%.
While Leonard completed the defensive responsibility, he was not left behind on the offensive end, he contributed 36 points, 9 rebounds, and 5 assists to lead the Raptors back to a city.
When Antetokounmpo was completely restricted, the Bucks could no longer find a way to defeat the Raptors. In the end, the Raptors fell behind 0-2 and won four consecutive victories to take away the Bucks.
In this round of the game, Leonard fully demonstrated the super level of offense and defense. Many people seem to be back in 2014, when Leonard, who was still a little young, successfully completed the heavy responsibility of defending James alone. In the end, Leonard contributed 29.8 points, 9.5 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 2.2 steals, and 1.1 blocks with a 44.2% shooting rate.
After five years, I won the cup again
Coming to the Finals stage again, Leonard will face the defending champion Warriors. Maybe this is the arrangement of fate, all his choices and processes now are due to the stepping stones of the Warriors at the beginning. And after a few years of recuperation, this time fate was clearly on Leonard's side.
With Durant and Klay reimbursing for serious injuries one after another, the Warriors' dream of a triple crown was shattered. The Raptors, under the leadership of Leonard, finally lifted the first championship trophy in team history.
In this round of the Finals, Leonard averaged 28.5 points, 9.8 rebounds, 4.2 assists, and 2.0 steals per game with a 43.4% shooting rate. After a gap of five years, he once again won the championship and the FMVP trophy.
Throughout the playoffs and the eventual championship, Leonard has been perfect. Killing the 76ers, defending Brother Alphabet, and defeating the defending champion, if such a story is made into a film and television drama, it is undoubtedly the best script for Long Aotian's return.
Finally, in the playoffs, Leonard played an average of 40.5 minutes per game, shooting 54.5% from the field (including 60.0% from three-point range, second in the league), contributing 34.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, 6.0 assists, and 2.0 steals.