Kawhi Leonard is back to form, and so are the defending champion San Antonio Spurs. And if Leonard and legendary head coach Gregg Popovich have their way, it’ll remain that way for quite a while as the franchise moves forward.
On Monday night, the fourth-year forward scored 26 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and added the game-defining steal against Chris Paul in San Antonio’s come-from-behind, 89-85 road triumph over the Clippers. It was Leonard’s first true breakout game of 2014-15 after missing most of preseason with eye conjunctivitis, and it came at a perfect time for the Spurs, who were just 2-3 entering the game and in dire need of a spark.
“We ran more plays for him tonight than I ever have in his career,” Popovich said afterward. “That’s the plan. We’ve got to start giving him the ball. You know, he’s the future. I don’t think Timmy (Duncan) and Manu (Ginobili) are going to play any more than maybe six or seven more years. So we’ve got to let somebody else do something.”
After the game, Leonard spoke with reporters including Sam Amick of USA Today and outlined his future plans. Though the Spurs and Leonard didn’t come to an agreement on a contract extension by the Oct. 31 deadline, it wasn’t because the two sides couldn’t agree on a price point. It was because Leonard’s salary-cap-hold would’ve been prohibitive with an extension, thus compromising the Spurs’ potential cap room next summer to replace Tim Duncan or Manu Ginobili if one or both opt to retire.
“I was never upset about (the extension),” Leonard said. “I mean they explained to me what their deal is and why they didn’t do it yet. That’ll play out. I’m just here to play basketball and have fun and try to win another championship. If I think about that, then I’m not going to be the same player that I am and will be just out of it.
“I don’t think I’m going anywhere. I mean, they love me here. I like the organization, and if it was up to me, I want to finish out with one team like a lot of great players have done, to stay with one organization their whole career and just be loyal to that. You never know. We’ll see what happens next summer, but I’m pretty sure I’ll be in a Spurs jersey for my whole life.”
In theory, the decision isn’t without some risk. Leonard, who will be a restricted free agent, could potentially land a contract from an outside team with land mines such as a trade kicker and player option, designed to discourage the Spurs from matching. The obvious parallel would be the Chandler Parsons situation with Houston and Dallas this past summer.
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But in the case of Parsons, the reason the Mavs were able to swipe him away is because the Rockets didn’t view Parsons as a max-level player. Thus, when the Mavs paid top dollar and added the bells and whistles to the contract, the Rockets opted to let Parsons walk because they disputed the value.
In the case of Leonard, a dominant defender and the reigning NBA Finals MVP, it appears the Spurs do value him at max-level. There isn’t a disconnect in the perceived value, like there was between the Rockets and Parsons. Because of that, there doesn’t appear to be a realistic way for an outside team to swipe Leonard away, and the relationship between the player and San Antonio remains in great shape.
“(Leonard) has never said one thing to me or asked me one thing about ‘Pop, why don’t we … ?’ Or ‘Pop, why don’t you … ?’ or, ‘Pop, can I … ?'” Popovich said. “He just is unbelievably coachable and does whatever we ask him to do. He’s a coach’s dream, very honestly.”
The Clippers learned that first hand Monday, even in the friendly confines of Staples Center. The Clippers led by seven with just under 6 minutes to play before Leonard and the Spurs took over.
“They basically gave us a clinic down the stretch of how to close out a game,” said Paul.
“He willed that for them,” Los Angeles coach Doc Rivers said of Leonard.
With the win, the Spurs’ legendary trio of Duncan, Ginobili and Tony Parker recorded their 500th career victory together. They’re now second among trios in NBA history, and with good health, they may pass Boston’s Larry Bird, Kevin McHale and Robert Parish (540 wins) later this season for first place.
But from a practical standpoint, these Spurs are no longer a Big Three. They’re now a Big Four, and the transition and evolution toward a Leonard-led franchise continues to grow with each game.
JOE JOHNSON RIPS NETS FOR SELFISH PLAY, SAYS ‘WE HAVEN’T PLAYED ANYBODY’
The Nets are off to a solid 4-2 start, but that doesn’t mean all is well in Brooklyn.
In fact, the winning mark may largely owe to an extremely-weak early schedule. The victories came against the Pistons, Thunder, Knicks and Magic, and the losses came in Boston on opening night (in blowout fashion) and at home to Minnesota.
Joe Johnson, who leads the Nets in scoring at 19.8 points/game, ripped the team’s play on Tuesday in comments made after the team’s shootaround.
From Devin Kharpertian of The Brooklyn Game:
“It’s just- as individuals, as players, (we have to) have each other’s backs out there,” Johnson vented. “I just felt, I didn’t believe it. I go back, and I watch the tape, and I watch film just to try to get a different perspective, and I mean, my feelings haven’t changed.”
“It’s just kind of what it is. Defensively, we help from time to time, offensively, I just think guys kind of exhaust their options and then when there’s nothing else for them, then they’ll pass it when they have to. For the most part, we’ve been very selfish.”
“It wasn’t like that in preseason. Preseason, the ball moved freely, it just seems like it’s really not doing that right now.”
“I’m not hiding anything. We’re 4-2 six games into the season, but it’s early. We haven’t played anybody, and the Minnesota game (is) obviously a game we should’ve won. I thought this last game that we played against Orlando was almost a carbon copy.”
Johnson, who didn’t mention any teammates individually, is typically quiet and mild-mannered in his interviews, so his tirade may suggest serious tensions behind the scenes.
The Nets return to the hardwood on Wednesday night in Phoenix.
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Dwight Howard will debut his new EPIX documentary on Wednesday night.
For NBA fans, Howard’s film appears to be worth watching. David Hardisty of ClutchFans attended Howard’s premiere event this week in Houston, and gave the film high marks for addressing major issues such as Howard’s famed disagreements with ex-coach Stan Van Gundy and ex-teammate Kobe Bryant.
There is also a raw honesty about the film. Dwight doesn’t hold back in confessing that he did go to management in Orlando asking for coach Stan Van Gundy to be fired, which led up to the classic interview where Van Gundy outed Dwight for doing it only to have Dwight show up. Even though I’ve seen it several times, the film does a great job of still making you cringe at this moment.
Dwight also admits that he and Kobe Bryant did not have the right chemistry in Los Angeles. Given some of Kobe’s public comments that are presented in the film, he felt there was no way he could win with the fans there. These were two negatives I thought Dwight would want to avoid, but he tackles them head-on in the film and I have to give him credit for that.
Howard and the Rockets also return to the basketball court on Wednesday when they battle Minnesota in Mexico City. The 6-1 Rockets share the league’s best record, but they’re coming off their first loss of the season on Saturday against the Warriors. Howard was out with flu-like symptoms. 
Speaking of Kobe Bryant, he’s on the verge of setting a new league record for the most missed shots in NBA history.
It could happen as soon as tonight, when Bryant and the 1-5 Lakers face off against Tony Allen and the league’s stingiest defense in Memphis.
When Bryant misses 13 more shots, he will pass Boston’s John Havlicek’s mark of 13,417 missed shots. If he hits the record tonight, Kobe will have done it in 19 fewer career games.
Bryant, now 36 years old, is shooting 39.4% from the field this season. It’s the lowest and most inefficient mark of his 18-year NBA career.
Upon further review, LeBron James did not record a triple-double in Cleveland’s 118-111 win on Monday night over the Pelicans.
The league office took away one of his rebounds and an assist after watching tape of the game, according to Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon-Journal.
“Through our normal review process, we noticed there were two errors in the statistical scoring last night and both have been adjusted,” NBA spokesman Tim Frank told the Beacon Journal.
On the disputed assist, which ended up costing James his triple-double, James tipped a rebound to Tristan Thompson, who passed to Kyrie Irving, who then dribbled forward for a layup. James was initially credited with an assist on the play.
After the adjustments, James’ final stat line goes down as 32 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists. James has 36 career triple doubles, and 47 if you include the postseason.
Ben DuBose is a veteran sports reporter who has followed the Houston Rockets and the NBA since Hakeem Olajuwon was Akeem Olajuwon. He writes for both SheridanHoops and ClutchFans, an independent Rockets blog. You can follow him on Twitter.
Later on Joe Johnson said that he wouldn’t be saying nothing, if he didn’t think the Nets had a Championship roster (paraphrasing). I don’t expect anyone in the National Media to repeat that quote from Joe.
Basically Joe is trying to get the Nets more focused ahead of a tough 3 game road trip and a difficult rest of the month.
So far, the Nets have all 15 players healthy. That has left one of the best defensive players in the NBA – Andrei Kirilenko – on the bench. Nets have a deep team.