Raptors to continue sitting Kawhi in one half of back-to-backs

The Toronto Raptors have been safe with their handling of Kawhi Leonard so far this year, sitting the star forward in one game in each of their two back-to-back sets this season.

Head coach Nick Nurse plans to continue that trend indefinitely, including in the back-to-back that begins Sunday against the Los Angeles Lakers and ends Monday versus the Utah Jazz.

"The plan is for a little while here to not let him play (both halves of) the back-to-backs," Nurse said, according to ESPN's Tim Bontemps. "I don't think we've decided how long that's gonna be yet. We're going game by game."

Leonard dealt with a quad injury that cost him all but nine games with the San Antonio Spurs last season, resulting in a falling out between him and the franchise and leading to his eventual trade north of the border this summer.

Although he's felt fine thus far, Leonard's OK with sitting out now to ensure he's rested ahead of the postseason.

"I just wanted to get healthy," said Leonard. "I feel healthy now, and they just don't want to rush into things. I don't either. It's a long season, so we're thinking about the long road."

The Raptors (8-1) are among the top teams in the Eastern Conference this season and have yet to lose with Leonard in the lineup.

The two-time Defensive Player of the Year is averaging 26.1 points and 7.6 boards in seven appearances with Toronto.