Kawhi Leonard progressing but Spurs 'a little bit afraid' of full contact
Taylor Swift once said that being fearless is having fears but jumping anyway.
Gregg Popovich and the San Antonio Spurs may soon heed her words of wisdom. The Spurs need injured NBA Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard back in a bad way, but the team continues to take a cautious approach with the torn ligament in Leonard's enormous right hand.
The fourth-year wing has missed 14 consecutive games and 16 of the team's last 18, a stretch in which San Antonio has gone 7-9 without him. As shown in the post below, the team's defense, in particular, has suffered with Leonard on the shelf, and this is true even when adjusting for things like opponent quality.
Luckily for the Spurs, Leonard is progressing, and even took part in a 2-on-2 session at shootaround Tuesday. The next step would be full-contact practice, something that's giving Popovich pause.
"We're a little bit afraid of that right now," Popovich said Tuesday. "He's getting a little more confident in his hand, but he's still not ready to go."
The Spurs don't quite need to rush Leonard yet, as their 23-16 record gives them a four-game cushion for a playoff spot in the Western Conference. Still, with 10 teams fighting for eight spots and a lot of season left to play, the Spurs are at the very least limiting their ability to rest star players down the stretch.
Leonard, who's averaging career highs of 15.2 points, 7.6 rebounds, 2.5 assists and two steals in 32.2 minutes, pushes the Spurs from first-round fodder in the ultra-competitive West to legitimate title contenders.
Having him healthy in April is paramount for San Antonio, so the caution is understandable.