Meyers Leonard unique piece to late-game puzzle

Last season, the Portland Trail Blazers led the entire NBA in free throw percentage with a whopping 81.5 percent. Every player that played regularly contributed to that outstanding figure. It was a big part of why the Trail Blazers were so formidable in late game situations; there was no one for opponents to put on the line, save for maybe Thomas Robinson or Joel Freeland if their starting counterparts were in foul trouble. It made Portland’s offense irrepressible because opposing teams dared not intentionally stop play and give the Trail Blazers free points.

We have seen the Trail Blazers achieve same elite level of proficiency from the free throw line during this NBA preseason. The team is shooting 86.0% percent from the stripe, as a whole. Interestingly, we have seen significantly less of weak free throw shooters, Freeland and Robinson, than anticipated in favor of Chris Kaman and… Meyers Leonard? While the Leonard leapfrog probably won’t last, there is a reason we are seeing this experiment. His aptitude from the line plays an important role in the situational utopia that could be Portland’s frontcourt.

Consider that Trail Blazers Head Coach Terry Stotts has switched Leonard from center to power forward for the foreseeable future. Despite Leonard’s enormous frame, he is athletic enough to defend NBA fours on one end and polished enough shoot well from mid-range on the other. The move makes good sense now that Kaman has taken over the backup center role. Now here is the fun part: Portland’s frontcourt has potential to be two-deep at both positions with nobody shorter than 6’11” (Aldridge), and no liabilities from the free throw line.

PLAYER	POSITION	HEIGHT	CAREER FT%
LaMarcus Aldridge	Power forward	6’11”	78.8%
Meyers Leonard	Power forward	7’1”	80.0%
Robin Lopez	Center	7’0”	75.7%
Chris Kaman	Center	7’0”	74.5%

There were 78 NBA players listed as 6’11” or taller last season, 29 of which shot above 75.0 percent from the free throw line (including those that benefited from a small sample size). With the addition of Kaman this offseason, the Trail Blazers now possess four of them. If played in any combination down the stretch, they stand to intensify the threat Portland poses from a tactical standpoint. No other team in the league can boast this combination of size and free throw competence. The Trail Blazers could tower over almost any opponent—starters or bench—at any given time without putting themselves at risk of being hacked out of late game leads.

Of course, they would need to get Leonard up to snuff on the defensive end in order for his presence to be a net positive. They could jump start this process by, say, I don’t know, inflating his minutes and having him guard smaller players in an environment that holds little import? Like preseason or something. If the Trail Blazers go whole hog on this “Leonard as a PF” kick, we might just be pleasantly surprised with the results. Again, chances are pretty high that he remains third or fourth option at power forward, but he may hold unique, circumstantial value.