Bring JJ Hickson off the bench for a scoring punch and..

I guess the way I see it, is that Leonard is playing around 20 minutes a night as a raw-as-hell rookie; he's getting court time with Damian, so I'm not sure what Dwight and Chris are so concerned about?

As for guys like Barton, Claver, Freeland, etc. I suppose I would like to see those guys get a little more live game action, but if Stotts is at all serious about developing Lillard and maximizing his chances for success and creating good habits for him, then he needs his starters in the game quite a bit and he needs some veterans like Jeffries and Pavlovic to sort of fill in the gaps. It's a helluva balancing act and so far I don't think you can fault Stotts' tack.

 

Meyers Leonard.

Start him, play him, build around him.

 

I never said I was against them playing, I'm just against starting them when all they've done is suck, and benching a guy who's earned the right to start...

 

No way man. Matthews is the perfect compliment for Lillard. Matthews and Batum are really making it hard for the other team's backcourt to get into the flow. Looking back, they have faced some of the best back court tandems and done a very fine job. I think we have the big men we need. The only way I would dabble in a trade would be for a legit "back to the basket" center. Last time I checked there isn't many out there right now.

 

Even when the guy that is playing better is just a short term fix? When Steve Blake started over Andre Miller it was a different scenario because none of them where really considered long term or short term fix.

 

Why is JJ only going to be hear short term? He may eventually come off the bench but I could see them signing him to additional years. Leonard is getting minutes so if he starts to play better, and I expect him to, then I wouldn't mind. I do think Freeman should be getting more consistent minutes. He definitely looks like a guy rushing, forcing and worried about getting yanked. He hasn't played well at all but I think he's better than what we've seen. He should get all of Jeffries minutes, what a waste that is.

 

I know it was one game, but the dude looked out of sync. He seems to move at a much slower pace than the rest of the team. Hopefully his 30 years in England will prevail and get him on track.

 

Amen on that. Blazers could really use a back to the basket center.

 

Because the way JJ is playing he's probably not going to want to be a backup for the next 3-5 years when he could be a starter and a big building block on another team that needs a true PF. Why did Harden want to leave OKC. Listen the Blazers didn't draft Leonard to be a backup center and Aldridge isn't going anywhere.

 

You may be right, you may be wrong on JJ. Comparing him to Harden is a bit of a stretch though. At any rate I see the value in wanting Leonard to get more playing time, but in his case I also see the value in bringing him along more slowly. Inserting him into the starting lineup adds more pressure to a guy who already seems to still be adjusting to the speed of the game. You don't want him to lose confidence. Foul trouble is also an issue.

 

Speaking of OKC, they didn't draft Cole Aldrich with the 11th pick to have him be a backup center either. But draft picks don't always work out. Right now Hickson is easily twice the player Leonard is. He should be starting. If we ever have a bigman on the bench that is arguably better than Hickson I'll be happy to argue about it. But right now the idea that Hickson should be benched is ridiculous.

I'll take it a step further and say that right now (and probably the whole season) all of our bench players are sooo much worse than our starters that there is no good reason to bench any of our starters.

 

Exactly... and here's the thing, he's only 24 years old. It's not like Hickson is some old man that is on his way out. He's not Kurt Thomas or Juwan Howard. He's a young, talented, big man who deserves to start. He's the best center we've had in years.

 

You are absolutely right! He makes it easier for us to keep Aldridge at pf. And centers can't cheat and double Aldridge anymore. I think this will bring fruit later in the season because teams won't be able to double Aldridge easily like they have done in the past. And if they do; I expect monster numbers from hickson

 

Don't get me wrong, I like Leonard. I think he's going to be a good player. I just like Hickson a lot too. He hustles, he rebounds, he plays defense, and he can score. Sure, he's a little smaller than you'd like your center to be, but in today's NBA it's really not that big of a deal.

 

Lenard's time will come in a couple years. Then you can bring Hickson off the bench as the first big man. He can back-up Aldridge and Lenard (If lenard pans out). It will be a great 3 man rotation in the front court. Basically no scoring woes front court from the second unit. I would like to bring in another 7 footer for spot minutes at center though.

 

Because he's better than Hickson.

 

Leonard is not ready. Hickson is our best option to start at the moment. Leonard is getting plenty of development minutes. Where's the problem? When we start following the expert coaching advice of Haynes and Dwight we are in a shit load of trouble.

Why conclude Hickson isn't a possible long term Blazer? He'd be great coming off the bench for us if we ever have someone better than him. I expect he'll either be a Blazer next year or be part of a sign and trade. No reason to extend him until we test the free agent market first.

 

I think the biggest difference between the two is defense. Hickson is just a little too undersized to defend well at that position. But he is certainly rebounding the ball well.

 

nards is gonna cut his teeth against 2nd units, and then when he is ready, he will release his beast mode upon the league

 

Meyers Leonard should be starting soon enough the way he is playing!! After all Leonard is the future starting center.