Spurs coach Gregg Popovich has referenced Bruce Bowen while discussing Kawhi Leonard’s defensive versatility on the occasion of his performance in the first starting assignment of his career. Leonard’s second start is expected tonight against the Blazers.

“It’s huge for us to have a guy on this team that can do similar things to what Bruce did in the past,” Popovich said after the forward’s defensive opus in crunch time Wednesday.

Popovich isn’t ready to declare Leonard his new Bowen, but it is clear he believes he has the potential to make a similar defensive impact.

“This young man’s got a lot to learn,” Popovich said. “But as I’ve said a lot of times, he’s very willing, he’s very versatile and I think he’s got the ability to be one heck of a player, and he wants to be. We’re very excited about him.”