Kevin Durant ‘looking forward’ to matchup with Kawhi Leonard

Lost in the hype machine surrounding the Warriors’ season opener Tuesday night is one of the NBA’s great individual matchups: Leonard, the NBA Defensive Player of the Year the past two seasons, is the rare player capable of pushing Durant defensively. In the two games Durant faced Leonard last regular season, the league’s four-time scoring champion averaged 25 points on just 38.6 percent shooting. Late Tuesday morning, after shootaround at Golden State’s practice facility, Durant conceded that he relishes matchups against marquee small forwards. After a 2014 NBA Finals in which Leonard’s Spurs beat the Heat in five games, Durant got into a Twitter debate with someone about whether George was better than Leonard. Blogs and social media buzzed about Durant’s not-so-subtle jab at Leonard for being a system player. The past 16 weeks have underscored as much. Since announcing his intention to sign with Golden State, Durant has watched his praise for his new team receive national attention as perceived shots at Oklahoma City.