Meyers Leonard rose to the occasion with his stellar play in the NBA Playoffs, leaving the Portland Trail Blazers hoping they found a diamond in the rough.
The Portland Trail Blazers season ended on a whimper at the hands of the defending champion Golden State Warriors. After bulldozing through the first round and getting the improbable Game 7 victory over the Denver Nuggets, the Blazers had momentum going into the Western Conference Finals (WCF). In three of four games against the Warriors, Portland managed to build up double-digit leads late in the third quarter.
Ultimately it was the team’s own inexperience that left them unable to close out. Now with the Blazers staring down a long summer to ponder how to get over the hump, one thing they can build upon is the surprising emergence of Meyers Leonard.
In the five games against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Leonard averaged 9.4 minutes and 3.6 points per game. His highest scoring output was eight points. In the seven games versus the Nuggets, Leonard didn’t even get off the bench in four of them. What fans got to see from Leonard was uninspiring at best.
However, by the time the Blazers’ season Golden State came to an end at the hands of Golden State, Leonard was the starting center and the third scoring option behind CJ McCollum and Damian Lillard.
Maurice Harkless (10.0 points per game against the Warriors) and Al-Farouq Aminu (3.5 points) each played a compelling disappearing act in the WCF. Any time they were given the ball, they would hoist up bricks or hand it off to McCollum and Lillard. The pair of wings never looked for their own shot. Enes Kanter was the Blazers previous starting center but he had been playing through a separated shoulder so it was already hard for the team to expect him to contribute much.
Leonard on the other hand was a welcome surprise. His ability to stretch the floor and knock down shots on the perimeter helped the Portland Trail Blazers build early leads. Leonard was inserted into the starting unit to match up with the Warriors smaller lineup. He made the most of the minutes he got by torching the Warriors every time he touched the ball.
In three games, Leonard averaged 17.7 points per game while shooting 46.2 percent from the three-point line. In Game 4, he dropped a career-high 30 points on Draymond Green including shooting 12 of 16 from the field and 5 of 8 on three-pointers. He also grabbed 12 rebounds. Leonard was attacking on the offense and forced Green to stay with him on the perimeter, keeping Green from guarding McCollum or Lillard. When the Warriors switched over to a smaller center with either Jordan Bell or Alfonzo McKinnie, Leonard went to post up and played closer to the basket.
Even though the Blazers suffered a sweep, Leonard’s performance was a positive to take from the series. With starting center Jusuf Nurkic out for the foreseeable future, Kanter played admirably in his absence. But Kanter is a ‘90s center who just does not knock down the outside jumper and is set to become a free agent at the conclusion of the NBA season.
Leonard displaced Kanter in the starting lineup and might have just taken over the role heading into next season. Leonard’s emergence makes Kanter expendable because the Blazers likely won’t match the $18 million Kanter made over this past season, especially if he isn’t starting. Leonard is signed for a much more team-friendly $11.3 million for the 2019-20 campaign and should be looking for an even bigger payday heading into a contract year.
He needs to build on the momentum from the Warriors series and develop his game because a 7’1 center that can shoot from long range is exactly what the Blazers need. He can stretch the defense by taking opposing centers out of the paint, as well, give the Portland Trail Blazers’ dynamo backcourt a reliable third scoring option.