Kawhi Leonard’s historic game winner takes Game 7

Takeaways

Time is still on Philadelphia’s bench. Joel Embiid is 25. Ben Simmons is 22. Maybe Jimmy Butler returns. Maybe he doesn’t. The Process, or whatever we’re calling it, has not yet run its course. Whatever this is, however, is not promised. Still, improvement occurred this season. Philly was harder out this year than a year ago against an upstart Boston squad. Finding consistency here is the key. The team and individuals must discover a way to stay the course while also changing and evolving. Embiid must mix up his offensive game more often. He cannot camp out at the three-point line with such predictability. His versatility is his strength. He must mix in more post ups with his habits of shooting from outside and driving the lane. There is a lot to learn from a series spent battling Marc Gasol and Serge Ibaka, from being doubled by Danny Green and Kyle Lowry.

Ben Simmons, too, must stretch his game. He also needs a more aggressive gear. If this pairing is to be truly special, Simmons needs to impose his will down the stretch of games, not just against the Brooklyn’s of the world, but against the Kawhi Leonards and Giannis Antetokounmpos. Either he or Embiid must play that big, and maybe that’s the problem—can they become their best selves while occupying the same spaces on the floor? Such a question is always an analyst’s fool’s gold. Breaking them up now would be a self-fulfilling prophecy. Keeping them together is to maintain the team’s status as a possible contender.

Toronto’s supporting cast is difficult to categorize. The line on every Raptor not named Kawhi Leonard suggests the player is too timid and nervous to be dependable as the pressure mounts. And yet there’s Kyle Lowry with his hand and thumb wrapped, battling, grabbing offensive rebounds when a player his size should not be. Fred Vanvleet is also always a few minutes away from doing his best Mighty Mouse impersonation, and Serge Ibaka is still capable of changing games by stretching the floor, rebounding, and blocking shots. Pascal Siakam cannot have reached his ceiling. Marc Gasol is himself in moments, if not a sustained four quarters. Hope exists here as long as these guys continue to create loose balls, chase loose balls, rebound with a vengeance, get out on the break, and not lean too heavily on Kawhi Leonard. Basketball, after all, is a blurring of statistics. The final score is more than just the shots made and shots passed up.

Kawhi Leonard, his teammates draped all over him, looked very excited and very human. Remember that the next time you think about tweeting a robot joke. He emptied his lungs from the bottom of the scrum.