The day's games kicked off with Game 4 of Raptors vs. Sixers in the city of Philadelphia. It was a tension-laden affair from minutes 1 through 48, no more apparent in the weight of importance felt in each go-ahead basket.
After the midway point of the first quarter, the game's leads rarely surpassed five or seven. Kawhi was absolutely in his bag for the T Dot, while Jimmy Butler continued serving as the steady hand for Philly. In the end, the Raptors prevailed 101-96, tying the series up at 2-2 heading home to Scotiabank Arena.
In the third quarter, Philly built what felt like a sizable lead, which inspired thoughts what the world would look like if the Sixers went up 3-1 on the Raptors. This same Raptors team (sans OG Anunoby, still injured) who looked like a clear cut top two team in the East the entire year! They felt like a bastion of stability and semi-continuity in a rapidly changing NBA world. Were they about to get overwhelmed by a talent-packed, but incredibly inconsistent Philly squad?
Kawhi Leonard was the answer to those doubts. Whenever it felt like things were going to snowball, Kawhi would come up with a breath-catching J. If he didn't have a shot open, he'd penetrate or swing the ball to the perfect spot for a teammate anxiously waiting for their moment to make a difference.
The man's stat line was truly indicative of his dominance(39 points, 14 boards, 5 assists, 13/20), but let the record show that Kawhi has been bringing the heat for the North this entire god damn series (38 ppg, 9 rebs, 4 assists, 62% FG, 48.6 3P%). While it's great to see Kawhi locked in, clearly in a groove for these NBA playoffs, I'm just thankful that we get to see him play more than 3 games in a row.
Throughout the regular season, It seemed like the Raptors rested the man every other game. They really kept him on ice all year, not playing him in back-to-backs, and letting him take an extended amount of time to heal from standard injuries. In total, The Claw ended up playing in 60 games out of 92 this year. We all knew what was up though. The Raptors are trying to resign Kawhi to a long-term deal after taking a risk and trading for him on the last year of his contract. They clearly granted the star any luxuries he wanted.
But now we are shifting gears. The questions of the regular season are behind us, and the results of these Raptor games may determine the fate of the Eastern Conference and NBA at large. Have a great personal series while your teammates continue to flourish? Kawhi's reasons to leave would be few and far between (assuming his decision is purely about basketball). Have a great series but your teammates don't look up to par? The future is much more uncertain (and interesting). Regardless, we will be staring down the barrel of a pivotal moment in Game 5 of this Eastern Conference Semi-Finals matchup. Tune in on Tuesday, May 7th at 5:00 PM PST / 8 PM EST.
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