VANCOUVER — Kawhi Leonard didn’t play Saturday.
asserted
Leonard → play → ?
It was a planned absence.
asserted
It → plan → ?
The 35-year-old superstar is still ramping up in advance of his first season back in Toronto, and only recently went through a full practice with the Raptors.
asserted
superstar → ramp → Raptors
It sounds like he still looks like a basketball apex predator; we’ll see soon enough.
asserted
we → sound → predator
After the trade and the Kawhi-Clippers salary cap circumvention case, this L.A. team feels like the kind of NBA roster you would find in a Salvation Army sales bin.
asserted
you → feel → bin
It includes scoring guard Darius Garland, the injured Brandon Ingram, former Raptor Gradey Dick, and a grab bag of uninspiring veterans.
asserted
It → include → veterans
The owner and general manager have been suspended, and they lost five first-round picks before recovering a couple in the Raptors deal.
asserted
they → suspend → deal
The immediate future looks rough, in L.A. Their Kawhi era ended badly.
asserted
era → look → L.A.
“(The Leonard experience) was good,” Clippers coach Tyronne Lue said.
asserted
Lue → say → ?
“I mean it was tough at times because he was injured a lot, and you know that was very frustrating for him.
asserted
that → mean → him
And just seeing the work that he had put in, trying to get back on the floor every single night, you can respect what he had to go through … to get back to where he was at the level he played at last season.”
The Raptors, meanwhile, are at the start of a new and uncertain future.
asserted
Raptors → see → future
In Saturday’s game, Leonard sat on the bench wearing a San Diego Padres cap backward; first-round pick Allen Graves, who has a groin injury, also sat.
asserted
who → sit → injury
(There are some people in the organization who are interested to see a healthy Allen Graves.)
asserted
who → be → Graves
Leonard shaped both teams, and will continue to shape both teams, in the same way he always has, with his presence and his absence.
asserted
he → shape → presence
Toronto only recently started to install their offence; the trade delay delayed Leonard.
asserted
delay → start → Leonard
“You know, with late incorporation of Kawhi, we had to hold back on introducing a lot of offence, a lot of offensive stuff there with the playbook,” Raptors coach Darko Rajakovic said.
asserted
Rajakovic → know → playbook
“So we were kind of waiting for him to join the team, so we can you know, start implementing all of those things.
asserted
you → wait → things
There is a lot of thinking now for our guys, but it’s completely normal at this part of the year.
asserted
it → be → year
We have two weeks before the start of the season to polish some of the things and be ready for the start.
asserted
We → have → start
While the halfcourt offence was a little clunky at times Saturday, the Raptors played fast, shared the ball, and produced a balanced output.
asserted
Raptors → play → output
R.J. Barrett battered the Clips for 20 points in 23 minutes, and Immanuel Quickley took and hit a pile of threes and scored 18 in 19 minutes, which is how he has to play.
asserted
he → batter → minutes
Both will have to provide supportive offence once Leonard is involved.
asserted
Leonard → have → offence
“One hundred per cent,” Barrett said.
asserted
Barrett → say → ?
“When Kawhi’s going to be in the lineup, that’s going to change things a little bit.”
asserted
that → go → things
“Always got to remind yourself to stay aggressive, even when you’re playing with other great players,” Quickley said.
asserted
Quickley → get → players
Centre Jakob Poeltl looked to be moving fine after last season’s back troubles, which is important.
asserted
which → look → troubles
And second-year man Collin Murray-Boyles bounced through screens like a bowling ball navigating pins, was additive at both ends, and produced 13 points, nine rebounds, three assists, four turnovers, and two blocks in 23 minutes while leaving opportunities on the table.
asserted
Boyles → bounce → table
Murray-Boyles started the second half for Ja’Kobe Walter, played some productive minutes with Poeltl, and is hard to miss out there.
asserted
Boyles → start → Poeltl
It was all against the remains of the Clippers, and without Leonard the picture remains incomplete, and get used to that.
asserted
picture → remain → that
This is no longer a one-year moon shot but a three-year commitment, and who knows, maybe more.
asserted
who → know → ?
That means, like the Clippers over the past seven years, Raptors fans will now live and die with Kawhi’s still-surpassing talent, and also with the persistent, uncomfortable worry of how well his 35-year-old body will hold together, even under the watch of Raptors body genius Alex McKechnie.
asserted
body → mean → McKechnie
Leonard has to be handled with care so that he can hopefully be thrown into the league’s hottest fires.
asserted
he → have → fires
It’s both strangely familiar for Raptors fans with a memory, and something new.
asserted
It → ’ → memory
Leonard should get into at least one pre-season game soon enough, and maybe Graves too, who ideally would boost the second unit.
asserted
who → get → unit
At some point we’ll get to see the unbullyable bully-ball trio of Barnes, Leonard and Murray-Boyles on the floor at the same time.
asserted
trio → get → time
And once Leonard is actually up and running, it will be the beginning of what the Raptors hope is a long, interesting road.
asserted
Raptors → run → ?
At times, patience will probably be required.
asserted
patience → require → times
The Aporia
