Share this Story: SIMMONS: Kawhi vs. Giannis — the battle of the giants SIMMONS: Kawhi vs. Giannis — the battle of the giants Article content You begin with the names — first names only — in the Eastern Conference Finals: Kawhi and Giannis. The last names aren’t necessary. The NBA has always been about players easily identified: LeBron. Wilt. Kobe. Shaq. Steph. Magic. All of them one-name wonders. And, now, two more against each other — Kawhi and Giannis. We apologize, but this video has failed to load. tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or SIMMONS: Kawhi vs. Giannis — the battle of the giants Back to video Beginning Wednesday night in Milwaukee, the main event has The Greek Freak vs. The Klaw. First name vs. First name. Nickname vs. Nickname. Giannis Antetokounmpo vs. Kawhi Leonard. The small-market Milwaukee Bucks and the out-of-country, normally disregarded Toronto Raptors in a best-of-seven. The two won’t necessarily play against each other, and neither can be stopped at times, but the road to the NBA championship will definitely go through one of their driveways. You begin with their names and then look at their hands. There are small countries that aren’t as large as the mitts Kawhi and Giannis have been blessed with. That’s why they call Leonard The Klaw. That’s part of why Antetokounmpo is known as The Freak. Leonard’s hands are bigger than those of Julius Erving or Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Giannis’ hands are almost two inches broader than Kawhi’s — or my two hands put together as one of theirs. Advertisement Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Article content They couldn’t be more different yet more the same. Both were chosen 15th overall in the NBA draft, projects, really, to some teams, afterthoughts. Kawhi was picked in 2011. Giannis was chosen in 2013 — a draft in which the Raptors traded their first pick to get Kyle Lowry, and Masai Ujiri feverishly attempted to acquire a pick right until draft night because he was so enamoured with the raw skills of Giannis and all the possibilities therein. He couldn’t make a deal. Last summer, he made the controversial, much-debated trade for Leonard. Up to now, everything has worked out as planned for the Raptors. Now they head to Milwaukee as underdogs — not giant underdogs, but Giannis may wind up as the league’s MVP. To date, Leonard is the MVP of this playoff season. “They’re both great, great players,” said an NBA head coach, who offered this view of the two anonymously. “Kawhi is better off the dribble and mid-range game. Both are great defenders. Giannis’ intensity is off the charts. He’s bigger and stronger than Kawhi, more naturally athletic. Kawhi has developed his skills ahead of Giannis. Giannis will get there, he’ll get better. I think (Kevin) Durant is ahead of both of them as far as all-around skills and shooting. One advantage Giannis has is Milwaukee has a better supporting cast than the Raptors but, really, both of those guys, Kawhi and Giannis, are great.” In Kawhi’s draft year, Brampton’s Tristan Thompson was chosen fourth by the Cleveland Cavaliers, Jonas Valanciunas was picked fifth by the Raptors. Nine more players went before Indiana chose Leonard and, on one of those draft-day deals, flipped him to San Antonio. In Giannis’ draft year, Brampton’s Anthony Bennett was chosen first overall by the Cavs — can you have imagined LeBron with Giannis and Kawhi? — another Canadian, Kelly Olynyk, went before Milwaukee picked 15th. One pick later, former Raptor Bebe Nogueira was selected by Boston. As people, as players, as athletes, Giannis and Kawhi couldn’t be more opposite. Giannis is built like a seven-foot middle-distance runner, who does hurdles and high jump on the side. The Greek Freak nickname is mostly a tribute to his ridiculous athleticism that few have ever seen by a man this tall. He is Superman-like, almost flying through the air, doing it with a smile on his face, relaxed, comfortable, happy during the season to meet and willing to celebrate with Greek fans. He isn’t the complaining or arguing type and being in Milwaukee, which is hardly New York, with winter temperatures that can make Toronto seem Phoenix-like on occasion, works. About his athleticism: It takes him just six steps to cover the entire basketball court, with 13-inch hands, a 7-foot-3 wingspan, an amazing natural who didn’t really learn the game, really, until he came to the NBA. He didn’t play college ball. He played, basically local league, at home in Athens. It wasn’t until a talent scout posted a grainy video online that anybody in the NBA other than Ujiri began to take notice. 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Article content Toggle full screen mode Previous Gallery Image Photo by Jack Boland / Jack Boland/Toronto Sun Photo by Jack Boland / Jack Boland/Toronto Sun Photo by Jack Boland / Jack Boland/Toronto Sun Photo by Jack Boland / Jack Boland/Toronto Sun Photo by Jack Boland / Jack Boland/Toronto Sun Photo by Jack Boland / Jack Boland/Toronto Sun Photo by Jack Boland / Jack Boland/Toronto Sun Photo by Jack Boland / Jack Boland/Toronto Sun Photo by Jack Boland / Jack Boland/Toronto Sun Photo by Jack Boland / Jack Boland/Toronto Sun Photo by Stan Behal / Stan Behal/Toronto Sun Photo by Stan Behal / Stan Behal/Toronto Sun Photo by Jack Boland / Jack Boland/Toronto Sun Photo by Jack Boland / Jack Boland/Toronto Sun Photo by Jack Boland / Jack Boland/Toronto Sun Photo by Jack Boland / Jack Boland/Toronto Sun Photo by Jack Boland / Jack Boland/Toronto Sun Photo by Jack Boland / Jack Boland/Toronto Sun Photo by Stan Behal / Stan Behal/Toronto Sun Photo by Jack Boland / Jack Boland/Toronto Sun Photo by Jack Boland / Jack Boland/Toronto Sun Photo by Jack Boland / Jack Boland/Toronto Sun Photo by Jack Boland / Jack Boland/Toronto Sun Photo by Jack Boland / Jack Boland/Toronto Sun Photo by Jack Boland / Jack Boland/Toronto Sun Photo by Jack Boland / Jack Boland/Toronto Sun Photo by Jack Boland / Jack Boland/Toronto Sun Photo by Jack Boland / Jack Boland/Toronto Sun Photo by Jack Boland / Jack Boland/Toronto Sun Photo by Jack Boland / Jack Boland/Toronto Sun Photo by Jack Boland / Jack Boland/Toronto Sun Photo by Jack Boland / Jack Boland/Toronto Sun Photo by Jack Boland / Jack Boland/Toronto Sun Photo by Jack Boland / Jack Boland/Toronto Sun Photo by Jack Boland / Jack Boland/Toronto Sun Photo by Jack Boland / Jack Boland/Toronto Sun Photo by Jack Boland / Jack Boland/Toronto Sun Next Gallery Image Toggle gallery captions All 37 Photos for Gallery At last check, according to a 60 Minutes report a year ago, Giannis was living in a downtown Milwaukee two-bedroom apartment with his mom, his brother and his girlfriend. From a family of Nigerian immigrants illegally in Greece, Giannis has never stopped being that youngster with nothing. When he arrived at the NBA draft, his agent asked him where his suit was. He didn’t bring one because he didn’t have one. They went out that day searching for a suit, which isn’t easy to find last minute for someone 6-foot-11 and a rather built 242 pounds. They found him what to wear that day — he got drafted wearing that suit, went back to the hotel room and celebrated by jumping up and down on his hotel bed, while the rest of the draft picks were at parties and bars . The next morning, he put the suit back on and headed to Milwaukee to be interviewed. Kawhi Leonard recently bought a multi-million dollar home in San Diego. Apparently, he has also bought a home in Toronto, possibly as an investment. Who knows what else he owns? He was paid $20 million by the Raptors this season. He will no doubt decline his player option for next season, where he will close to double his salary in free agency. Unlike Giannis, who is happy to take selfies — patient enough for one at a time — with Greek fans, Leonard is about as private as you can be. Some Raptors players and management types will tell you rather quietly that they hardly know the man at all. He isn’t public, isn’t quotable, isn’t flashy, is extraordinarily private, but he beat a double-team, took a fadeaway high-arching jumper over the giant Joel Embiid, and the Raptors advanced on Sunday night because of it. Giannis has been great in the playoffs, but hasn’t had to play the part of saviour. The Bucks are 8-1 through two rounds — most of their wins were one-sided. None of them came down to the final minute of play — or, in the case of the Raptors, the final shot. Advertisement Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Article content Giannis is all arms and legs and hands and speed — and quickness. Kawhi plays at his own pace, his own speed, his own self-created game, his physical way, that can’t be compared to anyone else. He finds his shots — and, like Giannis, seems to play two or three positions on any given sequence. The best two teams in the Eastern Conference, with the two best players, will now compete for a shot at the NBA title. Kawhi and Giannis. Let the names — and the games — begin. We apologize, but this video has failed to load. tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or TALE OF THE TAPE Kawhi Leonard Age: 27 Height: 6-foot-7 Weight: 230 lbs. Points per game (playoffs): 31.8 Points per game (regular season): 26.6 Rebounds (playoffs): 8.5 Rebounds (season): 7.3 Free-throw pct. : 85.4 NBA titles: 1 Giannis Antetokounmpo Age: 24 Height: 6-foot-11 Weight: 242 lbs. Points per game (playoffs): 27.4 Points per game (regular season): 27.7 Rebounds (playoffs): 11.3 Rebounds (season): 12.5 Free-throw pct. : 72.9 NBA titles: 0 ssimmons@postmedia.com twitter.com/simmonssteve Share this article in your social network Latest National Stories Advertisement Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Trending<doc-sep>Whew. Now that the good people of Toronto have had a second to breathe after Kawhi Leonard beat the buzzer and the 76ers on Sunday night — much to the chagrin of the already cantankerous fans in Philadelphia — it’s time to look ahead to what is sure to be another heavyweight series. The weary Raptors must summon the energy to slug it out with the Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern Conference finals, beginning on Wednesday night. The Bucks, who have home-court advantage, will be playing their first game since easily dispatching the Boston Celtics in their semifinal series last Wednesday, while the Raptors, in a blink, will try to shift gears after an elimination game that will go down as one of the greatest in N.B.A. history. In their last series, the Raptors dealt with a Sixers team playing a slower, more deliberate game, thanks to the stylings of center Joel Embiid, who often plays with his back to the basket in the low post. And Toronto had the perfect antidote to Embiid: Marc Gasol, a big man who thrives on post defense. In the first round, the Raptors played the Orlando Magic, which has one of the slowest offenses in the league. But Milwaukee, with its pace-and-space offense, is the embodiment of the modern N.B.A. The Bucks play much faster, and Toronto will have to deal with one of the best open-court players in the league, Giannis Antetokounmpo, trying to limit his eurosteps-to-slam-dunk combinations in the paint.<doc-sep>
Like fire and ice, the matchup between Giannis Antetokounmpo and Kawhi Leonard is one NBA fans have been yearning for ever since the bracket on this side of the conference was filled up. With LeBron James’ post-season greatness firmly in the rearview, the battle for the title of ‘NBA’s best player’ is approaching its climax. One of Leonard or Antetokounmpo will advance to take on — in all likelihood — Kevin Durant and the Golden State Warriors in the Finals. It seems as inevitable as Thanos. Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) tries to stop Toronto Raptors forward Kawhi Leonard (2) as he looks for the shot during the second half in Game 1 of the NBA basketball playoffs Eastern Conference final in Milwaukee on Wednesday, May 15, 2019. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP) For now, though, it is the two juggernauts of the Toronto Raptors and Milwaukee Bucks who are engaged in battle, and so I will look break down the key aspects of their performances from each game of the Eastern Conference Finals to determine an individual winner that may not necessarily be tied to the team that emerges from the series. A breakdown of Kawhi Leonard's quarter-by-quarter numbers in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Milwaukee Bucks. A quarter-by-quarter breakdown of Giannis Antetokounmpo's Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Toronto Raptors. Offensive performance Entering the game, Leonard had an individual offensive rating of 113.2 points per-100 possessions to Antetokounmpo’s 112.1. While both players are highly efficient in transition, the Greek Freak’s offence accounts for about 10 percent more than Leonard’s on the break. They’re virtually identical in terms of production in isolation but a major difference is Leonard as a pick-and-roll ball handler where almost 25 percent more of his offence stems from. In this game, neither was truly spectacular, with the Raptors — Pascal Siakam in particular — defending Antetokounmpo exceedingly well in the first half and keeping him without a single free-throw attempt. Leonard was uncharacteristically inefficient, and the manner in which the Bucks bottled him up in the fourth quarter showed that the ‘Anyone but Kawhi’ approach defensively is certainly worth going to when looking to break up the Raptors’ rhythm. Kawhi Leonard had his shot blocked 5 times in game 1. That has never happened before in his career (regular season and playoffs) Pascal Siakam also had his shot blocked 5 times in game 1. That has also never happened before in his career. — Darryl Blackport (@bballport) May 16, 2019 There were moments where both players forced the issue, but with Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer being afforded the luxury of giving his franchise player just a bit more rest and Leonard coming off a seven-game series including the emotion of that monumental series-winner, Antetokounmpo seemed to have more left in the tank to help his team close out the game with a 10-0 run. Story continues He had passes that led to critical Brook Lopez threes in the fourth quarter and those were ultimately the difference. Winner: Giannis Defensive performance What makes these two players so special is their ability to have a huge impact on both ends of the floor. While they spend very little time guarding each other, the impact they made on their defensive assignments was clear as day. Antetokounmpo was Siakam’s primary defender in Game 1 ( a trend that will likely continue) and the Cameroonian shot 1-of-6 from two-point range and 2-for-8 from beyond the arc with Milwaukee’s leader on the court. Antetokounmpo was happy test Siakam’s ability to shoot from the outside and shift over to the middle of the defence to operate as more of a free safety, and with this year’s likely ‘Most Improved Player’ award winner struggling to make shots from the corners, the plan worked to perfection. Siakam had six points on 3-of-6 shooting in the 10 minutes he played with Antetokounmpo off the court. Khris Middleton’s shooting numbers of 3-of-6 shooting inside the arc and 1-of-3 from beyond it look fine in 29 minutes when Leonard was on the court, but, unlike Antetokounmpo against Siakam, so much of Leonard’s effectiveness lies in the fact that he was able deter Middleton from getting up shots at all. That ball denial also contributed to Middleton’s four turnovers but it must be said that he found other ways to impact the game with 10 rebounds and four assists.