Portland Trail Blazers: 5 Trends To Keep An Eye On After The All-Star Break

1. Can Meyers Leonard Sustain His Current Level Of Play?

Since entering the league in 2012, Leonard has looked, for the most part, like your classic 7-foot bust.

Leonard has always been extremely agile and bouncy for a 7-foot-1 behemoth, but he had always failed to showcase the ability to perform traditional big men tasks — i.e., protect the rim, rebound in traffic, dive with conviction, finish through contact, etc.

However, in an unexpected turn, Leonard is gradually evolved into a highly efficient stretch 4. In fact, over the month of January, when he firmly superseded Thomas Robinson in coach Terry Stotts’ rotation, Leonard shot approximately 60.0 percent from the field, a jaw-dropping 46.4 percent from the beyond the arc, and an eFG% of 70.0 percent, per NBA.com.

The majority of Leonard’s offensive production is derived off of the playmaking of his teammates and the natural flow of Portland’s “motion” offense. Sure enough, 79.5 percent of Leonard’s field goals in January were assisted on.

One thing is for sure, opponents are still ad-lib on Leonard’s shooting. More explicitly, more than 48.5 percent of his shot attempts this season are taken with no defender within six feet of him, where in such instances, he converts on 46.7 percent of his 1.4 wide open 3-point attempts per game, according to NBA.com’s SportVU Data.

Likewise, roughly 58.5 percent of his field goal attempts come from catch-and-shoot opportunities; Leonard is a 44.4 percent 3-point shooter on such situations.

Most notably, though, Leonard is currently shooting at an unfathomable 69.2 percent from the corners, which make up for 21.7 percent of his 3-point attempts, per Basketball-Reference.

Defensively, Leonard is much improved as well. In addition to being a much more attentive strongside helper, Leonard has also made significant strides in regards to protecting the rim. And while he hardly plays the role of primary defensive anchor, Leonard is currently holding the opponents to 39.8 percent at the rim on 3.6 attempts per game.

In comparison, opponents shot over 58.0 percent on 2.5 at the rim attempts on Leonard last season.

But, aside from his improved rim protection, Leonard is still putrid at doing traditional big man things. Out of the Blazers’ contingent of big men — which includes Aldridge, Lopez, Kaman, Freeland, and Robinson — Leonard ranks dead last or second to last in offensive rebound percentage, free throw rate, and block percentage, per Basketball-Reference.

He is, however, a highly capable defensive rebounder. It is worth noting, though, that

70.6 percent of his rebounds are uncontested

and 23.1 percent of his rebounds are grabbed while fighting only one contesting rebounder, per NBA.com’s SportVU Data.

Additionally, while Leonard is converting on 72.0 percent of his shots from 3 feet and in, only 19.1 percent of his attempts derive from said area.

Accordingly, the question concerning Leonard becomes whether or not he can sustain his unconscionably hot outside shooting when opposing defenses key in on him; and if not, can he progress enough in the areas of rebounding and interior play to remain on the floor.

Next: 5. Will LaMarcus Aldridge's Injury Eventually Affect His On-Court Production?