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LAKE BUENA VISTA, Florida – Meyers Leonard was leaning forward at the waist, standing a few feet from Miami coach Erik Spoelstra in the Heat band, yelling at the volume his deep, booming voice can generate.
This is your role right now for the Heat.
His only role.
Leonard is in a difficult situation these days; A full-time starter during the regular season, he is now out of the rotation as the Heat have reached the Eastern Conference finals. It is a bitter pill for him to swallow; however, to his credit, he has not acted in the least bitter about his current reality.
“My team knows it and our coaching staff knows it,” Leonard said. “I would do anything to be out there. And I’d be lying if I said I’m not as competitive as hell. I wish I was impacting the game on the court. I’m not, but as a person and as a player, I want the best for everyone ”.
So for now, the chiseled 7-foot, 260-pound center is the tallest, strongest, and highest-paid assistant coach in these playoffs. He speaks out what he sees in each possession, sets aside his teammates for quick one-on-one chats when necessary, and on days off he does his job on the court in case it is necessary to play.
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Leonard has started 49 of his 51 Heat appearances this season, more starts than he made in his seven seasons with Portland combined. But in the playoffs, he has logged a total of nine minutes, all in one appearance.
“Meyers is one of the most special people I have had the opportunity to train and be around,” Spoelstra said. “She is a human being and an incredible teammate. He has all of our hearts. We will do anything for him because he is so pure. “
Leonard, more than anything else, was unlucky at the worst possible time.
He severely sprained his left ankle in early February and was nowhere near ready to return to the lineup when the NBA season was suspended on March 11 due to the coronavirus pandemic. And then when the team’s facility closed as a precaution, Leonard’s rehab process had to be altered as well.
That was the first problem. The second was that Miami became a different team a few days after he was injured, landing a trade to bring Andre Iguodala, Jae Crowder and Solomon Hill to the Heat. Crowder has become a starter and Spoelstra told Leonard before Miami resumed play in the NBA’s reset bubble that he was taking the rotation in a different direction.
It was tough for Leonard mentally. He was struggling when he hit the bubble because of his ankle, then he spent days wrestling over whether he should stand for the national anthem or kneel with his teammates, and on top of all that, he essentially lost his job as well.
“There are two things that I will never let be questioned and that is character and work ethic,” Leonard said. “Every day when I walk in the door, I’ll be a great guy, a great teammate. It’s not a fake. So I’m trying to make my impact now from the sideline.”
There are some starters who are not in the same roles that they had for the four teams remaining this NBA season. Avery Bradley chose not to join the Los Angeles Lakers on the bubble. Will Barton, who led Denver in minutes per game this season, has a knee injury and has missed the entire postseason for the Nuggets. Gordon Hayward has missed much of Boston’s playoffs while recovering from a sprained ankle. Heat rookie Kendrick Nunn, a season-long starter, is now in Miami’s second unit.
Leonard saw the Heat change and his role change with him. He didn’t sulk, lash out, or complain.
“It’s not easy, being in this kind of situation, going through the injury that she went through and having a hiatus where she didn’t have the full opportunity to rehabilitate her,” Spoelstra said. “But she’s making the most of it, and if she gets the chance, she’ll be ready.”
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Leonard also sees why he should help the Heat however he can right now. He has never been so close to an NBA championship; the Heat lead the Celtics 2-1 in the Eastern finals, with Game 4 on Wednesday night (Thursday Manila time).
He will also be ready to yell some more.
“I am, in the best way possible, the most jealous to see the success of our team,” said Leonard. “I literally said this to my wife the other night. I said, ‘Elle, we’re six wins away from a ring.’ That’s so damn special. “
