The Toronto Raptors haven’t acknowledged that Kawhi Leonard is dealing with an official injury. Our eyes tell us something different with the superstar having appeared to be hampered since Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Milwaukee Bucks.

Leonard’s right leg clearly seemed to limit him in Game 4. It didn’t stop him from leading the Raptors to a 120-102 victory.

“He’s playing through pain,” Raptors guard Danny Green told reporters Tuesday night, via si.com. “He can’t even celebrate baskets because of how painful it is. You dunk on a guy like Giannis and you are worried about your knee, it shows you that he’s fighting. We’re going to need him to fight through the rest of this series. We need two more.”

After scoring a team-high 36 points in Game 3’s double-overtime victory, Leonard scored 19 points on six-of-13 shooting in Game 4. He added seven rebounds, four steals and two blocks, guarding Giannis Antetokounmpo more than any other Raptor and proving to be among the NBA’s great defenders even when he’s not completely healthy.

The unknown nature of Leonard’s injury makes it difficult to forecast just how effective he’ll be for the rest of the series. We do know that a leg injury forced him to miss 73 games last season and he sat 22 times this year as Toronto tried to keep him healthy.

Toronto’s supporting cast stepped up Tuesday night in a way it hasn’t done for most of the playoffs. Leonard wasn’t the focal point of the offense, shooting just two more times than both Kyle Lowry and Marc Gasol. Norman Powell actually led the Raptors with 18 field-goal attempts.

It’s a far cry from what happened at the end of the second round and the start of this series. Leonard hoisted up 39 shots in Game 7 against the Philadelphia 76ers. He averaged 23 shots per game against the Bucks before Game 4.

“This was one of the nights that we knew Kawhi was a little bit limited and we had to come out and be aggressive for him,” Lowry said after the win.

Leonard told reporters he feels ”good,” refusing to acknowledge that he’s dealing with a significant injury. Raptors head coach Nick Nurse said Leonard looked “OK.”

If players like Lowry, Gasol and Toronto’s bench continue to perform this way over the next two games, an “OK” version of Leonard might be good enough to get the Raptors into the 2019 NBA Finals against the Golden State Warriors.

Kawhi Leonard Toronto Raptors
Kawhi Leonard #2 of the Toronto Raptors runs down the floor in the first half against the Washington Wizards at Capital One Arena on January 13, 2019 in Washington, DC. Rob Carr/Getty Images
RELATED STORIES
Basketball