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Yesterday's battle between the National Basketball Association and Kawhi Leonard had the benefit of playing on home court. Jimmy Butler was disabled by the get-go. Beyond the Raptors' Superiority in Talent, the Timberwolves Likewise Held to Deal With the Dysfunction of the Main Protagonists.
Based on numbers alone, Leonard trumped Butler pulling away. He had 35 points in 35 minutes in leading the Raptors to their fifth straight victory to start the season; parenthetically, the 23 shots he took to reach his high in black and red underscored his increasing efficiency. For good measure, he added five rebounds, two assists, two blocks, and two steals, including a ridiculous back-to-the-ball swipe that captured his inimitable instincts as a defensive demon. By comparison, his Timberwolves counterpart had a relatively more modest 23 out of 13 field goal attempts, four, five, zero, and six in 37 minutes of exposure.
There will be more matches for Leonard and Butler, of course, but yesterday's encounter simply highlighted the obvious. And, contrary to popular notion, the latter's recalcitrant stance vis-à-vis Timberwolves management will not be part of the equation; after all, it was exactly the position of the other more stable Spurs.
In the meantime, though, the impressions count. Which is why? Leonard is already very much a candidate, and one of the most important candidates in the world. And while both perspectives are in the future, there can be no rewriting the present: The Raptors are thriving, the Timberwolves are not.
Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994.
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