Since his return from his ankle injury, he has played 8 games Wash - 12m/6p/4r/0b Ind - 18m/8p/5r/0b LAC - 16m/6p/4r/0b LAC - 8m/1p/1r/0b Dal - 2m/0p/0r/0b Uta - 5m/0p/0r/0b Uta - 6m/0p/2r/0b Min - 7m/2p/2r/0b 20 personal fouls over those 8 games, or 1 foul every 3.75 minutes I would normally chalk this up to getting his groove back after being out, but it's been 8 games and he seems to be getting worse
I have not tried to hide my feelings towards Meyers Leonard the basketball player, so I hope people don't think I am saying this just to say it, but looking at those numbers, why?
I think it's obvious that Stotts thinks they have a better chance at winning with Leonard on the bench. That said, I think it's a mistake. I think he's a big part of our future.
I guess Freeland is in the pound as well, he's not touched the court. I much prefer Claver to babbit but keep seeing too much babbitt
It seems to me that in recent games, Leonard has been outplayed on defense by their big guys, and that the right play is to go small and spread out their defense. I wonder too if he is a liability on offense when players like Batum or Price play less and you have guys like Claver and Smith instead who don't pass as well. When he's given the ball on a lob or in perfect position he's good but otherwise is absent.
I've been disappointed with Leonard since coming back from injury. He still seems lost out there, but we are missing those moments he had before the injury. I don't think he is in Stotts doghouse as Stotts is usually quick to call his number early in the game. It is in the 2nd half, when the game is on the line, that Stotts has a hard time finding minutes for Meyers.
Stotts can't afford to play guys like Leonard or Freeland. He's gotta keep winning games so we can keep that 9th spot. No playoffs + No draft pick = AWESOME!!!
We are in the playoff hunt. Until that isn't a reality; I doubt Leonard gets significant playing time. Also the stretch offense is working pretty good right now: having Babbitt play pf
Me neither. And putting him in for the sake of playing time sets a negative precedents on the other players. The only reason why others get playing time is they don't have anyone better. Pretty obvious when you see freeland getting zero minutes. Leonard and Babbitt are sharing the back up duties right now.
No earlier in the season; we had no idea if we were even a consideration. Now that we have still stayed in the hunt; while playing a much tougher schedule; it's becoming more of a reality. Also; hickson was really bad on the defensive end. Even more so than he is now. Aldridge was still kicking the rust off him as well. Stotts first year also plays a role too. Now that he understands the players: he's using them with more thought.
IMO Babbitt has earned NO minutes, a supposed "shooter" who is shooting 35% and 33.6% from 3 and is a liability at everything else should rede the bench - he has "earned" nothing but 100% pine riding
I actually disagree. ALthough he makes me pull my hair out, he is providing more spacing offensively for the actual scorers. It's hard to double when your man actually can hit the outside shot. WHAT I have seen is if you keep him open too many times, he can drain that 3, so even if he misses 2 out of 3 shots; that one that goes in can be a difference maker for the momentum.
He (Babbitt) does seem to have a knack for knocking down a 3 when it matters. If he can dial that shot into something a bit over 40% he'd be a keeper - his defense is WAAAAY better than Kyle Korver's ever was. I'm actually pleasantly surprised with Luke's D this season.
That can be said for our entire bench. Everytime Leonard is out there Stotts seems to be yelling at him for something, even though to me it doesn't seem like he's playing that bad relative to the rest of our bench. We saw Sarge do this quite often to some young players and it inevitably leads the player to overthink everything, have zero confidence, and never stay on the court long enough to learn anything. This has become one of my main criticisms with Stotts.
