NBA Playoffs 2017: What We Learned Over The Opening Weekend

Kawhietly Dominating

Kawhi had 32 points against the Grizzlies in game 1, was perfect from the charity stripe (9-9), and finished the game a +17…… and turned in another performance highlighting why he won’t win MVP. 

Before I go any further, let me make this very clear: Kawhi Leonard is one of the greatest defenders I will ever see. Maybe even all-time. He’s developed into quite the two-way player, and is the face of the Spurs franchise for good reason. I appreciate his game a lot….. but it’s his game that is the issue.

In today’s society we (sadly) value flashiness and in-your-face everything – brightly colored sports cars, colorful clothing, loud music, big houses, you know what I’m talking about –  that’s Russ and Harden.

Russ will wow you with his insane athleticism (and as I write this, it’s Easter so maybe I should say hops) and thunderous (pun-intended) dunks. He can shamgod his defender one possession, follow it up with a steal, and posterize the poor big man waiting at the other end. He’s like the Energizer Bunny mixed with a robot – the dude never gets tired.

Harden is slowly becoming into a Steve Nash type (my mentor would be very upset with if I said look-alike) player. While many a comparison have been made this season to D’Antoni’s 7SOL offense in Phoenix with this year’s Houston squad, it’s hard not to see the similarities – the 3-point shooting, elevating the game of everyone around him all the while making highlight reel passes and layups.

Kawhi…. well sometimes it doesn’t feel like he’s already at 25 points. I don’t know how else to describe it otherwise than saying that he consistently puts up huge scoring outputs (along with some incredible defense), and I still look at the box score and back to the game sometimes and wonder if I’m on the right channel. Don’t get me wrong though – the Spurs and Pop could care less about what I think, as long Kawhi is still dominating.