My observations of Kawhi Leonard's excellent defense on Giannis Antetokounmpo
- Leonard's intimidation seemed to do half the work for him. Giannis just didn't look to attack Leonard in the first place
- Giannis usually looked to pass rather than attack Leonard. I included numerous plays where he quickly gave up the ball to another teammate while making no effort to score
- On or off the ball, Giannis essentially never tried to post up Leonard; he just didn't have the post game to muscle through Leonard in the paint like a traditional big man
- Especially off-ball, Giannis looked clueless and rarely looked to establish any kind of offensive position
- Leonard's length did force Giannis into numerous turnovers and a few blocked shots when Giannis did try to attack
- Although Leonard was defending out of position, Giannis' lack of a post game, his tendency to stand around the perimeter, and Leonard's length made up for any size disadvantage that you would expect from a traditional PF or C
- the Raptors' help defense also did their job in complementing Leonard with traps, doubles, and triples, but it was still Leonard who was the leader of their team defense
15 июн 2019
