Kind of reminds me of Aldridge's rookie year where he sat for most of the season behind Former All Star Jamal Magloire. That drove me nuts at the time, and in hindsight seems absurd. Had our dumbass coach been willing to start LMA at C the course of our franchise might be quite different. Aldridge, coming off DPOY in college, might have been molded into a center to play beside Randolph. Had that dynamic shown promise, maybe we keep Z-bo and build from there. It probably wouldn't have worked, but we'll never know for sure, will we? Anyway, LMA played 17 mpg through his first 23 games, to Leonard's 16 mpg so far over 30 games. LMA would average 22mpg the whole season, as we went into tank mode toward the end and his minutes went up. Benching Leonard doesn't frustrate me nearly as much as benching LMA. I'd say the big difference is roster, pedigree and production. Roster: Hickson is a better center than Magloire. Joke about his stat-padding, but at least with Hickson there are some stats. Magloire was hot garbage. There aren't the big roster questions of whether Leonard or Hickson fits long-term like there were with z-bo. Pedigree: Aldridge went from the best player on a college team to getting drafted #2. Leonard was drafted much lower, wasn't a real standout in college, and just has a lot of learning to do. Production: LMA had a PER of 17 his rookie year, while Leonard is at 13. When you factor in defense, the comparison gets even worse. If it comes to the point where Portland is out of the debate for the 8th seed, I can see them starting Leonard to see what he's got. But for now I think you stay the course.
I voted yes because I think it's pretty obvious hickson won't be a blazer next season. Just as I said start Nolan smith last season and fuck Felton's bitch ass. The sooner Leonard can learn at the nba level the better. It would be pretty cool if we are pleasantly surprised and he develops quicker than we imagine. Then our off season efforts will be looking for experienced bench players like jack and reddick.
The decision is really easy for me. The Blazers (no matter the outcome of the season) have holes to fill and one of those appears to be at center. If Leonard shows marked improvement, then their strategy going into the draft and/or free agency (and trades) is very different than if Leonard shows nothing or stays stuck to the bench. I'm not saying you have to play him 35 minutes a game, but 25-30 seems like the kind of run that will help him get acclimated to the league without completely overwhelming him -- and finding out if he's a really long term project of if he might be closer than that.
Hickson's D is pretty bad, but Meyers looks really lost out there right now ... but that wouldn't keep me from playing Leonard big minutes.
Leonard does look lost, but Leonard is a rookie that will get better. Hickson has no excuse other than he sucks at defense
Well said. Gradually bumping his minutes up from 16 to 24 a game by March, then giving him the starter's role in March and slowly bumping his minutes up from 24 to 32 would be optimal in my opinion.
It's funny, but I was thinking about this earlier this morning. But I was thinking of it in the context of after we trade Hickson, we will have to throw Leonard and Freeland and Babbitt into the fire, which is fine with me. Yeah, it will be painful at times, but it's necessary pain. Then I remembered we have a coach who likes to try to compete so we'd probably get a lot more of Jared Jeffries than anyone should have to suffer through. Anyway, even if Hickson isn't traded, I'd start Leonard and have Hickson get his usual minutes backing up both positions, but not until some time after the all star break.
There was a great line from a decent movie... I can't fix it if I don't know what's broken. Heartbreak ridge
The message is probably related closely to the following link: http://www.blazersedge.com/2013/1/2...-aldridge-wants-that-luxury-of-playing-with-a
That's right, our defense sucks ass! However, Meyers is one little cog of that machine. Perhaps a coaching change with the defense would be a good beginning. Getting the entire team to play defense is the key.
Kaleb is a great example of the adage that a lot of activity doesn't necessarily mean a lot of effort.
