Leonard's Ceiling.

[Black_Jack21]

Was talking to a friend of mine who has seen a lot more of the spurs games this year and said that he thought Leonard reminds him of Iggy in his rookie season somewhat.

It got me thinking about how good Leonard could be in a few seasons.

What do you guys think? Any chance he could grow into that calibre player?

[Ballings7]

He does remind me of Iggy actually, who I watched a lot in his first few years... not as explosive athleticially, but still above-average and has the initial handle, hops, and size to have a similar game on both ends of the court... he could be pretty effective in the post with his body-frame and length. Already probably is a better 3PT shooter than iggy was in his first 1-2 years, though.

[Donald Kaufman]

Yeah, I see more of Iguodala in Leonards game, definitely more than prime Marion IMO, which is who he gets compared to a lot.

[franktony]

He reminds me Crash with a better shooting stroke.

[TwentyOne920]

And a guy who posts 49/37/77 in the RS and 50/45/83 in the playoffs. To think he had a reputation of not being able to shoot!

[co_laper]

I'm actually a little disappointed that Kawhi worked on handling the ball and stuff instead of working on his post game.

Thing is, Kawhi IMO showed an excellent touch around the basket last year. It was almost as if, whenever he's around the basket, it's pretty automatic. I mean, he's got the size, the length, athleticism, and the rebounding ability to play in the post a la Lebron right now.

Add that the team is pretty short on post up players and the fact that he's basically our small ball PF, I just felt that's the logical next step for him to really improve his game.

But hey, let's see how well he can actually handle the ball this year. Pop's said he's gonna use Kawhi that way. I saw the 1 summer league game and while he was impressive there, it was againts inferior competition. I'm thinking Manu, Parker, Jax, and Neal are still the better pick and roll player right now.

[yitur]

I think he can become a Shawn Marion type, ultimate role player, not the player that will be your 1st option on offense but can put up 16-18 efficient points with great defense and rebounding

[co_laper]

Yeah, Leonard hasn't shown me any improvement offensively as a "Go to" Guy. This stuff about ball handling and initiating pick and rolls, he's no where near good enough at it. Like today's game againts Miami, I remember seeing him do it twice. One, he got caught mid air and throw it to the corner real high that when the shooter (I think it was Danny) got it, Danny had to jump real high just to catch it. Another one, he threw it out of bounce.

Running P&R, Kawhi has real issues man.. When the opposing bigs show, he gives up on the play. He can't split it or keep his handle like Parker or Manu. When the opposing bigs fall back, Kawhi can get to the rim, but if you guys notice, Kawhi doesn't jump real high. When he slash to the rim, for some reason, he's somewhat grounded. He just doesn't go airborne like some guys. I mean, he does have the athleticism to do it.

Again, watching him so far, I haven't seen anything that shows he can be someone we depend on offensively. Just about everybody in our roster is better offensively than he is right now when it comes to creating shots.

Defensively is where Kawhi can make his mark. He's got a great knack for scoring around the basket, getting rebounds, steals, and corner threes. But for this season, I just don't think it's likely that we'll see a different Kawhi. Probably a more consistent one compared to last year is the best we can hope for.

[mitrandil20]

Sorry if this sounds like a stupid comparison, but can he be a proto-Pippen? He got size, defense, shooting, not the highest BBIQ but still more than the average I believe. Pippen had Jordan's teaching by his side although.

what you guys think?

[co_laper]

I don't see it. Pippen is great because of his versatility. I mean he could pass, handle ball, play point guard, post up, not to mention his all-world defense.

Kawhi right now projects to be more like Gerald Wallace IMO. I would even say a worse version of Gerald.

If I recall, prime Gerald Wallace could block shots, was more athletic, and was a much better slasher. Kawhi got huge hands, but he's not as athletic as Gerald is. It really all depends on how Kawhi develops offensively. He's got a lot to develop on that end, but he's still very young. So time is still on his side.

[PerkinsFor3]

He can cover half his ceiling with one hand.

[TwentyOne920]

10 steals over 2 games? That's out of this world.

[Nolan]

Through two games the biggest improvement i've seen in his game is at the defensive game. The steals have been great but his man defense has been amazing. At times last year and espically in the playoffs against the Thunder he looked almost scared of his opponent at times. But this year he's been a lot more aggressive and he just looks more confident in his abilities and the results have been unreal.

[Black_Jack21]

Was he guarding Durant down the stretch?
I didnt see the game but according to the box score Durant's last score was with more than 6 mins to go.

[Nolan]

Was he guarding Durant down the stretch?
I didnt see the game but according to the box score Durant's last score was with more than 6 mins to go.

I'm pretty sure he was.

[Black_Jack21]

Well I'm not sure what we did but to keep Durant scoreless for that length of time in a close game in the 4th was pretty impressive.

[co_laper]

And now he's out. Jax and Green gotta step up. this will open up minutes for Neal at SG and a chance for Patty to take over the backup PG position if he does well.