Meyers Leonard, potential superstar

Discussion in 'Portland Trail Blazers' started by fumanchu, Dec 6, 2015.

  1. fumanchu

    fumanchu Active Member

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    Now I didn't watch the Minnesota game, so he may have sucked. But going off the Indiana game, there's something I saw in Leonard that could in theory equate to greatness. I'll concede that it's extremely unlikely tho.

    He's only 23 so he's still 3 years from being in his prime.
    He has a good head on his shoulders.
    He sees the floor well. You can run the offense through him.
    He's a good passer, makes the right decisions most the time.
    He has a great bullet pass.
    He's a good shooter and a decent foul shooter. Good hands.
    Agile defender, gets his hands in passing lanes.
    Not a great rebounder, but good enough. I think he makes up for lack of rebounds with his quick hands.
    He can shoot from anywhere around the perimeter, and he's showing improvement in the post.

    The last point is the big one. If he can develop his low post game he would be a beast. I would like to see him gain about 10 pounds of muscle and practice playing physical. He's tough enough and agile enough to play a physical game. Add that to his current game and he's Aldridge 2.0, maybe better.

    This post is all with my rose colored glasses on, but it's fun to think about.

    I would gladly eat my words about him. A few years ago I thought he was worthless.
     
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  2. KingSpeed

    KingSpeed Veteran

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    He's one of my favorite players in the league. When we drafted him, I said give him 5 years and he'll be one of the best players in the league. He's already a better pick and pop option than Aldridge.
     
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  3. Strenuus

    Strenuus Global Moderator Staff Member Global Moderator

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    Ay carumba.
     
  4. VanillaGorilla

    VanillaGorilla Well-Known Member

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    You lost me at "agile defender" . He's slow and clumsy on defense and is terrible at rebounding, especially considering his size. He has pretty much no potential to be a superstar in my opinion. Mehmet Okur is his absolute best case scenario.
     
    Last edited: Dec 6, 2015
  5. Fez Hammersticks

    Fez Hammersticks スーパーバッド Zero Cool

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  6. Fez Hammersticks

    Fez Hammersticks スーパーバッド Zero Cool

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    On a serious note...

    He is way too passive and doesn't have any kind of killer instinct.

    Ceiling? Think Mehmet Okur.
     
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  7. VanillaGorilla

    VanillaGorilla Well-Known Member

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    Hey I just said that.
     
  8. Fez Hammersticks

    Fez Hammersticks スーパーバッド Zero Cool

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    Ha! I didn't even notice.

    I think Okur is an obvious comp.
     
  9. HomerLovesKoolAid

    HomerLovesKoolAid I have a well-known member.

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    [​IMG]

    Especially if he learns to play basketball!
     
  10. rasheedfan2005

    rasheedfan2005 Well-Known Member

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  11. Tunchi

    Tunchi Well-Known Member

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    That's how Vonleh is
     
  12. rasheedfan2005

    rasheedfan2005 Well-Known Member

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  13. Fez Hammersticks

    Fez Hammersticks スーパーバッド Zero Cool

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    PER36: 13.7 PPG

    He's out there to score. It's really the only thing he has potential to be - a scorer. His numbers are very mediocre.

    Unless he flips a switch I don't see anything more than a fringe starter. He teases the fanbase with his (rare) 20/10 games but he still can't put the ball on the floor and is still very robotic on the block.

    This is his fourth year and he's dangerously close to being Bargnani without the dribble.
     
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  14. UncleCliffy'sDaddy

    UncleCliffy'sDaddy We're all Bozos on this bus.

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    Low blow Homer. Anything with Krysten Ritter gets a "like" every damn time. Just call me a dirty old man....I'll wear the tag proudly.....
     
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  15. BigGameDamian

    BigGameDamian Well-Known Member

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    He didn't see the game he saw Meyers stats.
     
  16. BigGameDamian

    BigGameDamian Well-Known Member

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  17. Sinobas

    Sinobas Banned User BANNED

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    I think the first thing Leonard needs to do is shoot more. Portland does much better when Lillard and CJ aren't forcing up ridiculous shots. One of his biggest flaws is that he passes up shots, and it usually leads to the another guy taking a much worse shot. I know Stotts is frustrated with that as well.

    Even though he started the year ice-cold, and was out a lot with injury, his 2pt percentage is up to 61%. And that's not a DeAndre "I only shoot point blank" Jordan percentage. And it looks like his 3pt shot is back now. He also seems to developing more of an offensive game around the basket. He's got that odd hook floater whatever it is.

    Defensively, he seems sort of average. But when you look at his defensive stats, they actually look amazing.

    His big problem this year has been rebounding, for some reason, it's fallen off a cliff. His rebound rate is one of the worst in the league among big men. But historically it's been much better.
     
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  18. Trackjack

    Trackjack Well-Known Member

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    Myers very good shooter but superstar no. But he is piece of the puzzle for this team to reach the playoffs in the future or good trade piece.
     
  19. Nikolokolus

    Nikolokolus There's always next year

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    If Meyers is on track to be a "Superstar" then the word has ceased to hold any meaning whatsoever.
     
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  20. riverman

    riverman Writing Team

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    I don't think Meyers will be a superstar, but I think he'll be a hell of a lot better player than Okur....I'd say he could become a well rounded player by the time he's Lillard's age. He's made a lot of improvements defensively...I don't get the hate for his progress that so many seem to spout, but Curry is a superstar and Meyers is not.
     
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