How about RPM? Real plus minus stat? 230 out of 462 There, above average. I won't get in to his defensive RPM though
Only if you know what you're looking for. In some cases, the eye test is actually backed up by the stats. From day one, everyone commented on Meyers' shooting touch. In his 3rd season, he had a rare 50/40/90 season (.510/.420/.938). In his second season, I observed that his rebounding looked much improved - it was, as backed up by his respectable 16.8 TRB% In his third season, I noted that his position defense had improved and he had learned to go straight up making him much less foul prone (PF/36 decreased from 7.7 to 4.8). He has shown improvement in multiple areas, yet the hate some poster have for him is palpable because he is not what THEY want him to be. Meyers biggest problem is, that so far, he seems to be able to only focus on doing one thing well at a time. I made a post during the playoffs that I thought Meyers was too coachable - that he focuses too much on the most recent thing his coaches told him to do, and forgets to do everything else he is capable of: I think he'll eventually outgrow that tendency and stop overthinking things. He has a unique skill set and can be a valuable part of our rotation. It would be nice if more people around here appreciated that and actually started to root for the guy to succeed, especially since we just signed him for another 4 years. Obviously, our front office and coached feel he's worth keeping around. BNM
PER is flawed but not useless, when taken in context. TS% is a very meaningful stat. But, in both cases the sample size is small (5 games). His .631 TS% for the entire 2014-15 season is a much more representative sample size. Also, most around here talk like he had a horrible 2015-16 season. He started out in a horrendous shooting slump, but his 3-point shooting improved every month of the year (until his injury ended his season in March). From Christmas - March 14 (the date of his injury) he shot .457 from 3-point range - that's elite by any measure and the 37 game sample size is significant. Only one player in the entire league, J.J. Redick, shot better than that from 3-point range for the season. That's a valuable skill for anyone in today's NBA, but in a big man, even just a role player, that creates the kind of spacing that allows others to penetrate and score in the paint. Dame and C.J. especially benefit from Meyers spreading the floor. I don't think it's just a coincidence that the team played their best ball of the season (24-13) during that stretch. When Meyers was hitting the 3, we were an elite team (24-13 = .649). The rest of the year, not so much (20-25 = .444). Do you think that is merely a coincidence? I don't. He's not perfect, but the team plays better when Meyers poses a legitimate 3-point threat. BNM
You, Neil Olshey and Paul Allen. The difference is, it's their money not yours, and they think he's worth it. BNM
OK, then see my other posts. .510/.420/.938 for the entire 2014-15 season, Is that a large enough sample size to be significant. What about .457 3FG% from 12/26/2105 to 3/14/2016 - a 37 game sample size when the team went 24-13? Not significant? BNM
A guy who is over 7' can stretch the floor like Meyers does, is respectable at rebounding and give big low post guys fits with how he defends them... If you described that player to any fan of any team they would say "Yes please!" Blazers fans "boo he's not Theo Ratliff"
1) I think there is too much emphasis placed on "what a player is worth." That is only one factor in determining what a player earns. I like this contract a lot, because I think it is very tradeable. Players have been getting paid BEFORE they earned it on the court since at least the middle 80s, and probably earlier than that. 2) I think the midseason trade deadline is going to be interesting as the Blazers really need a consolidation trade, ML is a tradeable contract, and Boogie should have gone completely insane by then. 3) I'll be incommunicado for a month or so, but no worries, I'm pretty sure that nothing new is going to happen until training camp (outside of signing Harkless).
Especially, relatively young 7-footers - Jon "the Contract" Koncak (career PER = 9.8) says, "How YOU doin', Meyers Leonard?" BNM
Like BNM, I have seen Leonard's progress each season. A ~12 PER is not bad for the 4th or 5th option, and is rather good for a reserve. It's lower than we'd like because he is both playing and learning a new position and especially defending PFs. It won't take a big leap forward in his progress to more than justify his contract. Though it never really came up, I was 100% sure Leonard was going to be signed to a long term deal. He's an investment that's already paid off some and looks to deliver greater returns this season.
Leonard is a unicorn. He is an athletic 7 footer that can shoot lights out and is actually a pretty decent passer as well. Add respectable one-on-one post defense and it is hard not to sign him. Just take a look at how long it took EJ to become a good center (and Neil drafted him too). Most bigs take time - and it would have been crazy not to try and ride the early years with someone as unique as Meyers.
