Raptors star Kawhi Leonard played against the Rockets on Tuesday after sitting out Sunday's overtime loss to the Pistons for load management, one of 12 games he has missed this season without an injury. That has been the Raptors' plan after Leonard played just nine games with the Spurs last season, a strategy very different from the Rockets' efforts to rest James Harden between games.
Harden has averaged 37.5 minutes per game, the most in the NBA. He missed three games with a strained hamstring and one with a strained neck. But Rockets coach Mike D'Antoni said that as difficult as it is to get Harden to sit out, he finds rest time in other ways.