Meyer Leonard was unsure of himself in his first two NBA seasons, when he was asked to be a traditional "brute" and back-to-the-basket center.

This season, Leonard has shown development in his shooting and has a more defined role as a shooting big man who can stretch the defense.

"There are a lot of things I feel like that have gone against me,'' Leonard said. "And people are like, 'What the heck? We took him early (11th pick in 2012), we're expecting a lot' ... and I think it's just taking a little bit of time.'

"I think people see a 7-footer ... pretty strong ... big ... wide shoulders ... and everyone thought I was a five,'' Leonard said.

Leonard scored seven points and grabbed 12 rebounds in place of LaMarcus Aldridge in the Portland Trail Blazers' 97-87 win over the Brooklyn Nets on Saturday. He was able to pull defenders away from the paint due to his shooting.

"It was kind of me,'' Leonard said of the shift in philosophy. "There was no point in trying to impress people in something that I was not that great at. I wanted to continue to work on defense and rebounding, but also be what they brought me in to do: Be skilled. Run the floor. Shoot the ball when you are open. Be athletic.'

"Once coach started to see me shoot more threes after practice, and shoot them during camps, and in games and summer run ... that's when coach realized 'He can really help us.'"