It was interesting tonight to see Meyers get a DNP until garbage time in the 4th. Harkless at PF has been a game changer the last 4 games; he gives speed, athleticism, defense, with enough shooting to space the floor. Hendo and Crabbe played strong off our bench as they've done for weeks. Plumlee and Davis have been a powerful duo all season. I thought maybe Vonleh had lost his spot this season with us being in the playoff hunt; but his defensive footwork was excellent tonight. He provides hustle plays on offense with a respectable jumper. Now I wonder if Meyers is the odd man out?
Harkless and Vonleh have to play. I can't see Leonard with many minutes unless someone gets hurt (nock on wood).
Um, he played 23 minutes the game prior to this one. Stotts wanted a more uptempo lineup for this game and Meyers is more of a halfcourt player. Its based on the opposing teams.
You sit Vonleh or Harkless when the opponent goes big, and play Meyers against them. Meyers is situationally awesome, but only when he's not exposed by faster opponents.
Vonleh didn't play then. Before that Harkless didn't play. Plumlee and Davis have been excellent all season, I'd be very reluctant to sit either of them for Meyers.
He's a niche player. He's good against the Boogie's and Gasol's of the world, but I think you use him only in specific situations. Also, another thought I've had recently, is maybe Portland decreases his minutes so his perceived value will be down around the league, causing his value to drop on the open market? Who knows.
It will be interesting to see what Beibs brings in the free agent market. He's restricted so we can match but there are no shortage of teams that we have done that too. Maybe an ex-Blazer GM or two wanting a little payback?
I'd sit plumlee against someone like gobert. Leonard would draw gobert away from the basket and can body him on defense as well.
Plums can pick up fouls and Davis is a bit undersized. Against beefy centers, Meyers is really useful. There just aren't many of those anymore.
Yup. Which is why Olshey needs to set a limit as to how much they would spend on him. I would match any offer though, and just trade him. Wouldn't want to lose him for nothing
He could walk for nothing. If Neil has a weakness it's his unwillingness to take risks. He played poker with LMA and lost - losing a franchise guy in his prime for nothing. Leonard is nowhere near that level but you could've got an asset or two for him at this deadline.
I question how much value he had to other teams. Veteran teams wouldn't want him to win now. What would a rebuilding team give up for a soon to be free agent? He has major issues defensively, is primarily an offensive player, and is shooting 34% from three. The NBA league average is 35% from three. He has too small of a usage rate to be a key offensive option. He certainly belongs on an NBA roster. My opinion is he's more of an 11th man; not a key core piece. Do people really think another team is thinking he's an answer as a starter? Teams want starters in free agency or bargain contract like Ed Davis. Some fans talk about how young he is; he's been in the NBA just as long as Harkless. He's older than both Harkless and Crabbe. I'd rather pay those two big dollars and give them significant minutes.
Yeah maybe we can try that for a few minutes if our offense is stagnating. Harkless was very effective when we beat Utah earlier this season so first I'd see how the team plays and then put in Meyers if we really need to spread the court with 5 shooters.
