Last night was billed as the night Kawhi Leonard finally returns to face the team he was traded from this past summer. Leonard did have a good night, scoring 21 points, going 8 for 13 and adding five rebounds. Unfortunately, DeMar DeRozan, the guy he was traded for, had a better night. It was clear DeRozan took this game personally. A night the Raptors were thoroughly outplayed by DeRozan, the real story of the game.
The night started out with a tribute video to both Leonard and Danny Green for all of the great memories from when they were in San Antonio. Interestingly enough, fans were not so happy for the return of Leonard who left the team after only playing nine games last season. Every time he touched the ball on the court, the San Antonio fans would boo. It got so bad reportedly, Leonard’s family was receiving death threats before the game.
Lost in the story is the great season DeRozan is having on an often overlooked Spurs team. The Raptors are clearly a more talented team, but it seems like DeRozan has been completely written off and forgotten about as a star player. Currently, he is averaging 22.8 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 6.4 assists in his first season with the team.
It seemed like last night he wanted to prove to Toronto as well as the league that he’s a pretty good player, notching his first ever triple double. He finished the game with 21 points, 14 rebounds, and 11 assists and the team easily picked up the victory, 125-107. DeRozan showed his team and the rest of the NBA that he is still a great player. Not just the guy who got moved to bring Leonard to Toronto. The Spurs currently sit seventh in the dominant Western Conference while the Raptors are currently second in the East.
