NBA M3 - Chapter 573: Still Green! Scoring at Will in Isolation (Patreon)

“Thud!”

Leonard showed no fear and stepped right up to crowd Blake. “Bang! Bang! Bang!” Their bodies collided as Blake backed him down. In a contest of strength, Leonard was no match for him.

Each bump drove the rookie farther back until Blake pounded the ball against the floor, lowered his shoulder, and leaned into him again.

“Bang!”

After forcing Leonard off his spot, Blake spun and rose for a turnaround jumper.

“Whoosh!”

Leonard's eyes sharpened. He planted his feet, recovered his balance, and sprang forward to challenge the shot without the slightest change in expression.

But could he match Blake's vertical leap? His height? Not even close. Leonard had excellent reactions, explosiveness, and jumping ability, but none of it was enough to get a hand on that shot. The difference in physical gifts was simply too great.

“Swish!”

Blake's midrange jumper dropped cleanly through the net. Yet being beaten one-on-one didn't make Leonard angry or frustrated in the slightest.

Kawhi's expression remained unchanged. He inbounded the ball to Parker, ran upcourt, and, once the Spurs finished their possession, returned to Blake with the same stern look.

His assignment was to guard Blake. Leonard wasn't concerning himself with the offensive end at all. When he stepped up again, there was no hunger in his eyes, no visible confidence, and no fear. Only the determination to defend.

Blake knew Leonard well enough not to bother talking. With the ball on the right wing, he accelerated, stopped on a dime, and pulled the ball back between his legs.

“Screech!”

Leonard stopped and recovered his position. Blake attacked to the left again, and Leonard's eyes flashed as he suddenly reached in with speed and precision, trying to strip the ball away.

But Blake reacted a fraction faster. He lowered his dribble and switched hands behind his back to avoid the steal, then exploded past Leonard on the right.

“Whoosh!”

With Leonard beaten, Blake charged into the paint and finished a powerful layup over Blair's defense.

“Swish!”

And what about defensive awareness? Blake already possessed Iverson's Talent, [Eagle Spear], and [Payton's Defense]. Those abilities hadn't merely made him a formidable defender. They had also sharpened his instincts on that end of the floor.

Perhaps the future Leonard, with his suffocating “Death Grip” defense, would have a chance to steal the ball from him. The inexperienced rookie standing before him today certainly didn't.

So, throughout the latter half of the first quarter, Blake attacked Leonard with his full offensive arsenal. This was the gifted defensive rookie in whom Popovich had placed such high hopes, and Blake scored on him however he pleased.

Post-ups, contested perimeter threes right in his face, drives through contact that ended in ferocious dunks. He used them all.

Kawhi had already produced several eye-catching defensive plays this season, but he was still green. Against Blake, he got a brutal lesson in just how far he had left to go.

At the end of the first quarter, the Suns led the Spurs 33-30. Blake had poured in 21 points and was playing brilliantly, yet Phoenix's earlier eight-point lead had somehow shrunk to three.

“What's going on?” Jon Barry wondered aloud, puzzled by the score.

“Hmm...” Mark Jackson thought it over. “Blake's having a great game, but that's nothing unusual for the Suns.

“The real difference is what San Antonio did in the second half of the quarter. Bringing in Ginobili and assigning rookie Leonard to Blake were two important adjustments.

“First, Ginobili gives the Spurs more firepower. Second, neither Leonard nor Tim can stop Blake, but putting Leonard on him frees Duncan to spend less energy on defense and devote more of it to scoring.

“Third, the Suns usually sit Curry late in the first quarter and use the Blake and Yao Ming twin towers. That takes away some of their offensive firepower, and Duncan can also make life difficult for Yao.

“The Spurs are third in the West for a reason. With those three advantages working for them, it's no surprise they've played well. Still, Suns fans don't need to worry.

“Phoenix is ahead, and this is how their rotation normally works. From the starters to the bench, they have the advantage in almost every matchup. They should be able to keep it.”

“That's true.” Jon Barry nodded. “We're watching the top team in the West take on the third-place team. People can't go into every Suns game expecting them to wrap things up by the end of the third quarter. This one is going to be a battle.”

The commentators' analysis only made the crowd more excited. Cheers thundered around the arena as the fans eagerly anticipated what was coming next.

Before long, the break ended and the second quarter began with a showdown between the reserve units. For Phoenix, Curry, Klay, and Carter led the rotation.

Curry was the primary scoring option, Klay provided secondary offense and defense, and Carter served as the third option. San Antonio countered with its reserves led by “Manu” Ginobili.