Kawhi Leonard‘s performance in the opener of the Eastern Conference semifinals was exactly was the Raptors were hoping for when they acquired him, writes Michael Lee of the Athletic, but the Sixers need Jimmy Butler to step up in the same way. The matchup of recently traded forwards could go a long way toward deciding their playoff series. Leonard was brilliant in Game 1, scoring 45 points and pushing his career record against Philadelphia to 14-0.
Lee notes that there are many similarities between Leonard and Butler, who were both drafted outside the lottery, became stars through hard work and forced themselves out of unhappy situations. However, Leonard was clearly the better player on Saturday as Butler hit just 4 of 12 shots and scored 10 points.
“He’s just evolving,” said Sixers forward Jonathon Simmons, who played alongside Leonard in San Antonio. “He wants to be in the conversations with the best of them. That’s what he works for.”
There’s more from the Atlantic Division:
- The Sixers will need more production from Joel Embiid to have a chance in the series, notes Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Despite being among the league’s best centers, Embiid has a history of struggling against Marc Gasol, a former Defensive Player of the Year in Memphis. Embiid made just one shot Saturday while Gasol was guarding him and finished 5 of 18 from the field.
- The Nets can create enough cap room this summer to reshape their roster, but they’ll have to determine how many of their own free agents they want to keep, observes Tom Dowd of NBA.com. The most significant decision will involve point guard D’Angelo Russell, who will be a restricted free agent after a breakthrough season. Brooklyn can match any offer that Russell receives, but the front office will have to prioritize how much to pay another guard with Caris LeVert and Spencer Dinwiddie already in place. “He’s obviously one of our more talented players,” GM Sean Marks said of Russell. “You said we’ll have decisions. D’Angelo is going to have decisions, too. That is a little bit of the nature of this business.”
- Celtics coach Brad Stevens confirmed today that Marcus Smart is unlikely to be available for the conference semifinals, tweets Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston. Smart, who suffered a torn oblique three weeks ago, is doing core work, but his return still appears far off. “I don’t see any way that he’s available until whenever his timeline hits that we thought initially — four to six (weeks),” Stevens said. “And I said at the start, the four seems awfully aggressive.”
Embiid will never be the “most unstoppable player in the league” until he wants it bad enough to put in the work. This series is going to prove that he is very stoppable, and it’s gonna be a lonnnnnnnnnnng four game sweep.
he has more than put in the work already. he’s playing tentatively and “soft” because he’s dealing with an injury
when will teams realize. That in this era, you can’t win a championship with a big man as your best player.
Any team with jimmy butler will fail
It’s a big ask, for Butler to match Leonard. Even if he heated up, the Sixers have other stars who want to do their stuff. Leonard is always the Raptor priority, and he was not abusing the privilege despite 45 pts.
It is so much more enjoyable watching Giannis right now, bumping vs Baynes & Horford, than the new fat-Shaq, Embiid, demanding privilege & still getting it from the refs. But that will keep the Sixers close. Tobias does not overshadow the Raptor forwards like the Nets forwards. That’s why one writer points to the center while another points to a guard for the Sixers to come back. And the TV crew will probably point to Redick!
But Leonard can do more than anyone.
Well see how the series plays out, I mean yall crowned the Nets after 1 game.
This is the second round though. Huge difference. All of the irrelevant teams are gone. They don’t have the luxury of playing game two against the Nets
And until the Sixers lose at home it doesn’t matter.
You understand they can lose the series without losing a game at home , right ?
This series has nothing to do with Toronto, if Embiid is healthy enough to dominate Philly wins, if he is not Philly loses, as simple as!
Yes, that is generally how Home Court works.