Seventeen days and seven games after dislocating his left shoulder against the San Antonio Spurs, Trail Blazers forward-center Meyers Leonard returned to the court Saturday night in Portland's 108-96 win over the Los Angeles Lakers at Moda Center. Leonard shook off the rust to score seven points and grab seven rebounds in 21 minutes of work in the victory.
More importantly, the fourth-year pro out says he's pain-free and has full range of motion back in the injured shoulder.
"It felt fine," Leonard said of his shoulder in the locker room post-game. "Talking to our doctors before, I said ‘I didn’t think about it in practice, I’m not going to think about it during the game as much as possible.’ I thought I did that. I wasn’t concerned about it."
While he was happy to be back in action, Leonard wasn't thrilled with his performance in the return -- mainly his one-of-five shooting night from behind the arc.
"It’s going to take a few reps here in a couple games to really get myself back in the gameflow, flow of the offense, flow of the defense," he told reporters. "But I though for my first few minutes — first game back — I thought it was ok. Obviously, go back to the film, see what I could do better. Make some more shots next game, hopefully.
"But [the shots] all felt good, so I’m not worried about that. Shooters shoot."
Head coach Terry Stotts said Leonard's presence on the court alone was impactful in the Trail Blazers rotation.
"I thought he looked good," Stotts said in his post-game press conference. "I thought there were times where he was kind of out of place a little bit, whether it was pick-and-rolls or spacing, but for missing a couple weeks and seven games, I thought he looked good. You knew he was out there.
"I think he’s going to continue to get better, but I thought for the first time out he was pretty good."
While Stotts told media "We’ll see where it goes" as it pertains to managing the frontcourt rotation while increasing Leonard's minutes, the 7-1 big man is prepared to do whatever he can to make his impression felt on the court for the Blazers.
"It’s my job to get out there and play and do well when coach puts me in, whether it be starting or whether it be come off the bench," he said.
"Twenty minutes, 30 minutes — whatever it be — it’s my job to go out there and affect the game in a positive way."