The Toronto Raptors are operating with caution surrounding Kawhi Leonard in the early part of the 2018-19 season and, given the way the team is playing with or without him, that makes complete sense. However, Leonard missed Sunday’s game against the Los Angeles Lakers as a result of foot soreness and, on Monday, the All-NBA forward will be sidelined for a second straight contest as a result of the ailment.
Kawhi Leonard is out tonight for Raptors/Jazz in Utah.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) November 6, 2018
Leonard rested on two occasions earlier in the campaign with no health-related concerns but, in this instance, the 27-year-old will miss both games of a back-to-back set. On Sunday, the Raptors managed to pick up a lopsided win over the Lakers without Leonard available but the task could be more difficult on the road in Salt Lake City, as the Jazz are quite formidable within the friendly confines of their home arena.
With that said, Utah will also be without its best offensive player in this spot, with Donovan Mitchell absent with an ankle sprain. That levels the playing field considerably and, while much of the casual intrigue with this contest is out the window on account of both teams playing short-handed, this is now a battle of two (very) deep basketball teams with the ability to play quality basketball without their stars in the mix.
All indications are that Leonard isn’t battling a serious ailment at the moment, even with the caveat that foot issues aren’t always easy to deal with for NBA players. It will be interesting to see how the Raptors move forward, though, especially if Toronto is able to compile yet another victory without the team’s best player on the court.
