Considering his background, how hard he worked to get in college, how hard he worked to come back from 2 knee surgeries, how hard he has worked as a pro, his hustle and fight on the floor. His character in bringing back together his brothers and sisters, his hand written “thank you” notes to the Celtic’s staff. The overall character he has displayed:

I don’t care what his numbers are. Sign him to a lifetime players contract. As long as that guy is a player in the NBA he should be a member of the Celtics. The team needs more people like him. If my kids are going to look at a professional athlete as a role model and admire someone, I would prefer it was someone with the personal integrity and work ethic of Leon Powe.

Leon Powe’s contributions to the Celtics success this season have been remarked upon in the Blog’s chat room where he has a lot of fans. Leon has worked very hard to overcome his injuries and the hard work is paying off. He has overcome terrible obstacles in his short life, and I see him continuing to improve and being a part of the NBA (hopefully with the Celtics) for a long time. Truly the kind of man I want to cheer for.

It’s funny that he physically defines the term “undersized power forward”, and in reality he is one of the best backup centers in the league.

I have been on the Leon Powe bandwagon since day 1 and wholeheartedly agree that he deserves all the kudos he can get. He is a very special player.

Leon Powe has really surprised me. He’s having an excellent season.

I didn’t like his summer league (1 good game against a rookie centre’s first NBA moments, 2 average, 2 bad is not good for a NBA veteran and Davis outplayed him on the whole) and it brought up a bunch of questions about his game. A lot of his scoring opportunities where being created by opponents mistakes and he didn’t look to adept at creating his own offense at this level …. so surely it’ll be harder come regular season and better opponents/defenders …. not at all. It worked out the exact opposite. So much attention is given to other members of the squad freeing up Leon to do what he does best. With KG/Pierce/Ray and top tier squad, Powe has been able to create even more of those garbage type of buckets (either by hard work or clever movement).

He’s been very good. Quality one-on-one defense. Quality board work. Moves well without the ball creating easy passing lanes to help his teammates. Scores well around the hoop. Draws fouls. He’s a very nice complementary player. Executes the screen and roll very well.

During summer league I also thought another thing would work against him. Since he didn’t look that good creating his own offense, surely once he started making the scout reports and once people had played against once or twice they’d be able to limit him in a big way. Jury is still out on this one (what’s he the fifth or sixth guy on the scout report? how much do people care about that? Lots players don’t even read the scout reports and don’t adapt until they play each other a couple of times [Tracy McGrady]) but he looks alright since he must be garnering some attention from opposing teams prep work by now.

During his rookie season he saw limited time but whenever he did come on he looked lost. Finding himself out of position on both ends far too often for my comfort levels. Rumblings of him having similar trouble in practices only made it worse. That hasn’t really been an issue at all this season.

He’s doing really well.

Among many fun highlights this year Leon’s emergence is right up there. He has outplayed Perk in my opinion. His offense is productive and opportunistic. He is quick going up with the ball, something we all recognize Perk is not so good at. He takes charges. He rebounds. Who cares how tall you are. Mark Blount is 7 foot. So is Eddie Curry. Give me Leon anyday. He runs the floor. Doc and his staff have developed this guy

I was at the Philly game where Powe played the final 15 minutes of the game after not playing 15 minutes hardly all season and remembered why I was so high on him last year. I have been loving watching Leon all season and am strangely very proud of him. On Tuesday I broke down and spent too much money for a Powe jersey. I am watching the mail everyday!
I still wish it was him with the mohawk, though… :D

It seems like his hands are always pinned at chest level waiting for a pass, or to sky for a rebound. The kid is amazing. I love perk, but if perk had Leon’s hands and kept the ball above his shoulders, he’d be an allstar

Johan, I was at the Philly game in Mid-January when Leon brushed off the cobwebs and saved the day for the listless Celts that night, but I wasn’t surprised. This guy always makes an impact the moment he hits the floor, whether it is with a big rebound, follow up basket, charge taken, or hustle play.

I looked at his stats since that game, the first time this season where he had gotten regular minutes, and he’s been as good a big off the bench as anyone in the league. We;re talking about a point every two minutes on 56% shooting, a rebound every three and a half muntes, and a lot of defense, hustle, and physical play, all for under $700k a year.

Plus, he’s a character guy who works hard all the time and never complains. The guy is a delight to cheer for and I wish him all the best. There’s a reason that Leon Powe is spoken of reverentially in the Bay Area of California. The Golden State TV announcer was praising him so much during the recent game there that I thought he was talking about Mother Theresa.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9wWAkVOTi8

Is there a mix out there from his Cal days? I’d be curious to see his game when he was the primary option in an offense.

Love his game. Reminds me of Paul Silas. And he’s absolutely an untouchable on this roster.

I played against Leon in high school a couple times and I’ve been waiting for him to get his due. This guy could be a starer in the league for a long time. I was freaking out last year and the beginning of this one when Doc had him riding the bench. I’m glad he is starting to get recognized for the great player he is and will continue to be. You won’t find many guys like Leon in the NBA.

CoachBo, I like your Paul Silas comparison. And yes, Powe should be an untouchable on the roster.

He plays hard and he plays smart. That an old timer like Heinsohn loves him is telling. Like Posey and House he is the type of bench player that championship caliber teams need to have. A nice job of scouting by Ainge.

Give it up to Powe. With Davis showing something early and then PJ coming in, there was every reason to think Powe would be nailed to the bench.
But Leon has made the most of every minute he’s been out on the floor. He’s THE 6th man for this team.

I did not like Powe’s game last year. He has made a fool out of me. He is a solid NBA 4, stays within himself offensively, a great finisher, rebounder, defender, what is there not to like? I also think he has gotten stronger in his legs, has a lot more spring and quickness this season, which is not surprising, given how long it takes to get back from ACL injuries (remember this, Tony Allen; all is not lost). Love Powe!!