Portland Trail Blazers: Has Meyers Leonard actually improved?
Portland Trail Blazers center Meyers Leonard has some surprisingly impressive numbers in his minimal playing time this season. Is the improvement real?
The Portland Trail Blazers‘ 123-116 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans last week was rough. DeMarcus Cousins had a big game in the absence of Anthony Davis, finishing with 38 points. Four more Pelicans finished in double-figures, and the team shot 48.4 percent from 3-point range.
Meanwhile, Portland was down big for much of the second half and struggled from beyond the arc. The Blazers shot 31.4 percent on 3-pointers. C.J. McCollum, normally their sharpest shooter, went 1-of-6 from outside.
However, there was one player in the midst of defeat that made some impressive strides.
Center Meyers Leonard finished that night with a season-high 17 points in nearly 16 minutes off the bench. He went 7-of-9 from the field and made both of his field goal attempts. Leonard also added three assists, two rebounds, a steal and a circus shot to his ledger.
Leonard’s 17 points were the most he’s scored in a game since Jan. 21, 2017. He scored the same amount in a 127-123 overtime win at the Boston Celtics.
Meyers Leonard hasn’t been much of a factor in the Blazers’ roller-coaster 13-11 season. He has seen a massive reduction in minutes due to the resurgence of Ed Davis. Leonard has only played in nine games so far this year. He averages 10.1 minutes per game, a drop-off from 16.5 last season. It’s an even bigger drop-off from the 21.9 minutes per game he played in 2015-16.
However, he has put out a few impressive performances in this young season. Leonard picked up 11 points on 4-for-8 shooting and seven rebounds in a 102-90 win over the Sacramento Kings on Nov. 18. Leonard was 3-of-5 on 3-pointers in that game.
In the following game — a 100-92 win over the Memphis Grizzlies — Leonard had eight points, made all four of his field goals, and pulled down four rebounds.
Leonard is averaging 5.7 points and 2.7 rebounds per game this season. That’s 0.3 points more and 0.5 rebounds fewer than last season. However, his per-36 numbers are showing that he’s doing a lot in a little time. His 20.2 points and 9.5 rebounds per 36 minutes are an increase of 8.4 points and 2.5 rebounds from his 2016-17 per 36 figures.
Leonard’s shooting has also been incredibly efficient. He’s shooting 58.8 percent from the field: 63.6 percent on 2-pointers and 50.0 percent on 3-pointers. All three of those numbers are career highs. His 2016-17 numbers, by contrast, were 38.6 percent from the field, 43.6 percent on 2-pointers and 34.7 percent from 3-point range.
Granted, these small numbers don’t come close to meeting the value of the four-year, $41 million contract he received in the summer of 2016. That fact has been the source of ire for a lot of Blazers Nation. It’s gotten to the point that fans have started to boo Leonard when he steps on the floor.
In Leonard’s exit interview back in April, he stated how excited he was to go through the offseason. He was fully healthy for the first summer in awhile, and he wanted to take that opportunity to train and get better from a career-worst season. Early on, it seems that Leonard has made some strides on the court.
Now, he may have the opportunity to show his stuff in a larger sample size. Jusuf Nurkic suffered a right ankle sprain late in their 106-92 loss to the Washington Wizards. Leonard could receive some extra playing time if Nurkic needs to miss some games.
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Should that happen, we may gain more clarity into his current numbers. We’ll find out if they are a mirage or the production of an improved player.