TORONTO \u2014 You can never knock Darko Rajakovic for his enthusiasm.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Toronto Raptors<\/a> head coach is perpetually caffeinated, in both the literal and figurative sense.\u00a0<\/p>\n So keep that in mind when he described his view on Kawhi Leonard<\/a> finally putting on a Raptors uniform for the first time since he lifted the Finals MVP trophy over his head at Oracle Arena in June 2019.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s going to be super-important to get him with our guys on the court, to get him integrated and it\u2019s very special that it\u2019s happening here at home in front of our fans in Toronto and not some road game,\u201d Rajakovic said before Leonard suited up Tuesday night for the third of the Raptors’ five exhibition games and the only one at Scotiabank Arena. \u201cIt\u2019s a very special day for him. It\u2019s a very special day for us. We\u2019re super excited.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n But in this instance, Rajakovic\u2019s passion was properly placed. “Special” and “pre-season” normally don\u2019t do well in the same sentence, but in this case it all fit.<\/p>\n Leonard\u2019s debut \u2014 especially by pre-season standards \u2014 was absolutely exciting. The anticipation had been building. Leonard\u2019s Raptors return has been something both the organization and the fan base were looking forward to since Toronto tried acquiring him from the Los Angeles Clippers on June 30, only to have to wait for more than two months for the trade to be completed pending an NBA investigation into salary cap circumvention by the Clippers on behalf of Leonard.\u00a0<\/p>\n The delay in the trade set back Leonard\u2019s readiness for training camp, so he sat out Toronto\u2019s first two pre-season games for “reconditioning” purposes.\u00a0<\/p>\n But the wait was finally over as Leonard took the floor at Scotiabank Arena as a Raptor for the first time since Game 5 of the 2019 NBA Finals.<\/p>\n And the wait was worth it \u2014 almost like the last seven years never happened and Leonard remembered not only where the home dressing room was but all of his passwords too.<\/p>\n \u201cIt feels good, just being out there and playing a different opponent was great,\u201d said Leonard after leading the Raptors to a dominating 148-98 win over the New York Knicks<\/a>, improving the Raptors’ pre-season record to 2-1 with road games against the Knicks and Detroit Pistons to round out their schedule before they host the Chicago Bulls next Wednesday in the season-opener. \u201cThe crowd was involved \u2026 we came in and got focused on defence, that was my intention. I wanted to get out there and get tired \u2014 I still want to get in better shape \u2014 but it was fun to play.\u201d<\/p>\n When Leonard left the Raptors, he was the best two-way player in the sport with two NBA championships and two Finals MVPs to prove it.\u00a0<\/p>\n Now? At 35, he’s older and presumably wiser, while remaining a two-way force. His first highlight play in his second tour with Toronto? Digging in on Knicks point guard Jose Alvarado and pulling out the basketball with his massive claw-like grip. That ball got pushed ahead and ended up as a clean look by Leonard from three as a trailer in transition that he missed, but the tone was set.<\/p>\n \u201cDefensively, oh my God, he looked amazing, the way he played today,\u201d said Scottie Barnes<\/a> (19 points, six rebounds, four assists and two steals in 22 minutes), who should combine with Leonard and second-year forward Collin Murray-Boyles<\/a> (19 points and nine rebounds on 7-of-7 shooting) to form one of the most fearsome and versatile defensive trios across the NBA. \u201cJust being active, poking at the ball, physicality. It was amazing.”<\/p>\n Now, some important caveats: The roster the Knicks put on the floor bore no resemblance to the lineup that won an NBA championship in June and which thumped the Raptors five times in the regular season last year, each one more convincing than the last.<\/p>\n That\u2019s because the Knicks played in New York on Monday night and left their starters home rather than play them on the second night of a back-to-back in pre-season.<\/p>\n So for all the good feels generated by the Raptors’ dominance and Leonard\u2019s brilliance, it\u2019s worth noting that almost no one they were competing against will be on the floor when the two teams meet in the regular season.<\/p>\n But in Leonard\u2019s first live action since his Clippers lost during the Play-in Tournament in April, he at the very least looked every inch what the Raptors had when he was last here, and they very much hope they were getting, when they traded for him and signed him to a two-year $115 million contract extension that takes him through his age 37 season: one of the best players in the sport.<\/p>\n For his part, Leonard wasn\u2019t easing into anything.\u00a0<\/p>\n He ended up playing 16 minutes \u2014 all in the first half \u2014 and was a game-bending presence for almost every second of them, ending up with 21 points on 12 shots (4-of-8 from three), along with five rebounds and two steals.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a bit hyperbolic to say that the Raptors won Leonard\u2019s minutes by 28 points only because of him, but it\u2019s no stretch to argue that simply having Leonard on the floor made the rest of the Raptors better.<\/p>\n Leonard got his offence very much in the flow of the game. He was content to act as both a trailing outlet on some transition opportunities or sprint to the corner to serve as a hit-ahead target on others. He hit threes in both instances. He wasn\u2019t just active when he thought he could get a steal \u2014 he threw himself into halfcourt traps in aid of his teammates like a rookie eager to impress.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s how I like to play, that\u2019s how I grew up to play in the NBA,\u201d said Leonard. \u201cA team game and just everybody really being involved on any given night.\u201d<\/p>\n His teammates should benefit. Late in the first quarter, Barnes attacked the defence on an isolation play where the versatile Raptors star could really operate 1-on-1 without fear of a second defender as Leonard and Immanuel Quickley \u2014 on paper the Raptors’ two best three-point shooting threats \u2014 spotted up on the weak side of the floor where the Knicks were reluctant to play off them. Barnes scored easily.\u00a0<\/p>\n Defensively, Leonard predictably gave Rajakovic plenty of options to put a number of combinations on the floor that could switch almost every position and hound the ball at every turn. Late in the second quarter, Leonard and Barnes trapped the Knicks point guard at half and then Leonard switched out of that onto a Knicks forward before finally switching again and walling off the Knicks centre to allow Murray-Boyles an uncontested defensive rebound.<\/p>\n The 15-year veteran plays the game the right way, from his defensive presence to his willingness to balance the floor in transition, whether the ball is coming his way or not. Leonard is an exciting player because he can score with volume in the toughest situations, but it\u2019s built on a foundation of fundamentals.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWhatever is needed from me,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s how I learned to play in the NBA. Running for others. If I\u2019m above the ball and I\u2019m able to sprint to the corner and the shot doesn\u2019t come to me but just giving anybody a lane to drive for the basket \u2026 running for others and then yourself \u2026 I just want to help others and help my team and hopefully I\u2019ll play a good game.\u201d<\/p>\n It may not have been the NBA-champion Knicks the Raptors and Leonard dominated, but those principles should hold up against any competition.<\/p>\n