San Antonio Spurs’ Kawhi Leonard wants more minutes
San Antonio Spurs’ forward Kawhi Leonard was known by many as a role player.
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That was of course until the playoffs last season. Leonard raised his game in the postseason and won MVP of the NBA Finals.
Now, Leonard is hoping that translates to more minutes.
“In the Finals I’m playing 35 minutes a game, so I’m on the floor more and able to score the ball more and get more rebounds,” Leonard told Dan McCarney of The San Antonio Express News. “So I’m going to have to get consistent minutes to play at a consistent level like that. I’ve been trying to (be a dominant player) since I’ve been here.
“It’s just in order to get me more involved in the offense, that’s what I go by. Like I said, if I’m going to get seven more minutes on the floor, that’s going to be important. We’ll see what happens. I mean, my role was supposed to expand last year and we played pretty much the same basketball. So we’ll see what Coach Pop has.”
As Gregg Popovich continues to limit the minutes and games of his veterans, Leonard should get the minutes he wants.
Leonard averaged 12.8 points, 6.2 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.7 steals and 0.8 blocks per game while shooting 52.2% from the field, 37.9% from beyond the arc and 80.2% from the free throw line. In the playoffs, he put up 14.2 points, 6.7 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 1.7 steals and 0.6 blocks per game while shooting 51.0% from the floor, 41.9% from three and 73.6% from the charity stripe.
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