The big man in the middle, Meyers Leonard has had some
interesting talk from the media this off-season. John Canzano, columnist for the
Oregonian, has said Leonard is the key to the Blazers return to the playoffs
and a deep run at that. Leonard is still pretty far out from being the player
the Blazers need in the middle, but that’s why GM Neil Olshey went out and grabbed
Robin Lopez. With time and wisdom, Leonard will become the Blazers answer at
the five spot.
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After only two years at the University of Illinois, Leonard
was selected with the 11th overall pick in the 2012 NBA draft. The
21 year old from Robinson Illinois was a highly touted center. His freshman
year he averaged only 8.2 minutes getting 2.1 points and 1.2 rebounds. However,
his sophomore year he came on strong averaging 13.6 points and 8.2 rebounds per
game. He had six games where he scored 20 or more points. He was named an
Honorable Mention for the All Big-10 team that year.
An intriguing stat is he averaged 1.9 blocks per game his
sophomore year. He had four games with five or more blocks. He had a total of
60 blocks that season and 73 for his career at Illinois. Defensively he is
exactly what the Blazers need, or will need. Leonard is far from being the best
center, but he is fighting for his chance to be the starter. I think by next
year he will be starting and by his fourth year (at the latest) he will be the
center the Blazers need.
During his first season he played in 69 games, starting 9.
He played an average of 17.5 minutes and scored 5.5 points a game. He also
showed some promise on the boards grabbing 3.7 a game. He recorded 12 games
where he grabbed seven or more rebounds. His best game to date was the March 30th
game against Golden State. In the loss to the Warriors, Leonard played 41
minutes, shot 52.9% from the field scoring 22 points, all while grabbing 10
rebounds.
One of the biggest reasons Leonard hasn’t been able to be
the center everyone wants him to be is because he is still getting used to his
body. Now some of you will think that’s an excuse, but did you know that Leonard
was a guard until his sophomore year of high school? That’s right, he gained
six inches to his height between his freshman and sophomore years. Add the
years now, three from high school and two from college. Coming into last year,
he had only played FIVE years as a center! Give the kid a break, he is still
not used to looking down and seeing seven feet worth of human. Most centers in
the league have played years at the five spot, not five total years. This
coming year will be his seventh year as a center, so the learning curve is still
pretty steep, but he can handle it.
Leonard will be the reason the Blazers are successful in the
future, it just depends on when that future will come. The Blazers went out and
got Robin Lopez because they needed a legitimate big man. As much as I loved
J.J. Hickson, he was undersized and overmatched against the 7-footers. However,
Leonard will provide that length and that ability to play strong in the post on
both offense and defense. He has one of (if not) the best PF in the game today
to learn from in L.A. He can learn to post up, fade away, take 10-12 foot
jumpers, and more. Lopez is a good Band-Aid until Leonard is ready, but Lopez
is not the Blazers long term answer at center.
I see Leonard as the primary backup and biggest threat to
Lopez’s starting title. With more practice and polishing, he can be a great
center. Lopez even mentioned that Leonard has been asking lots of questions of
everyone on the team. Leonard wants to learn and wants to show Portland fans he
loves it here and will do whatever he can to bring them a championship. Leonard
will have to compete with Joel Freeland, but right now it looks like Leonard
has the edge, let’s look for him to keep it that way.
Out of the future players, Leonard is the player I’m looking
forward to the most. He has the most upside because he still has such a high
ceiling and he showed that he can produce and that he has some tools to help
him now. Just imagine what will happen when he can hone his skills and get
comfortable in his own skin. He could be dominant.