I won't claim to have come up with this analogy, but I think it's apt. Leonard is a lot like a Great Dane puppy when he's out on the court. His awareness is jaw-dropping in how horrendous it really is. He's completely lost on both ends of the court, having no clue what to do with the basketball in the paint and how he's supposed to play big men on defense.
That said ... he does a few things when he's out there that give me a glimmer of hope that someday he could be a regular contributor. 1. He's game; he doesn't appear to get too down when he screws up and he doesn't seem intimidated. 2. He's very mobile for his size; I think he does a nice job jumping out to the three point line to hedge on pick and rolls and when he recognizes what he's supposed to do, he's able to cover a lot of ground and get back to his man near the hoop. 3. He's got a pretty good jump shot; his form is good, he's fluid ... he's usually super tentative and unsure of taking a jumper, but mechanically there's something to work with.
What does all of that mean? I don't know exactly. It's all going to come down to how hard he works in the off-season with a big man coach, or how much time he devotes to his craft ... an holy balls, he needs a lot of work, but at least there's some mold-able clay there to work with -- the atheticism, the size, the jumper.
