Beyond Blazers Podcast/Profile: Meyers Leonard - Week 2 discussion topic

What does it all mean?

Leonard is a CENTER not a PF. Until he plays C full time, he will continue to "meh".

 

Pretty much my feelings.. a bit more to it than that. But yeah that's the gist haha.

 

Dan made a great point about how big Leonard is; a lot of us have been saying all season that neither Plumlee or Davis is really big enough to play effective defense in the post. There are so few guys out there who can play good post defense and also make medium and long range shots. And of course he can dunk also. It'd be nice if he had a couple post moves but even without that he is a good center. And there is no reason he can't hang out outside the circle most of the time on offense. But it's be nice if he could move around more, make our offense less predictable. And, really, it is a mystery why he doesn't guard the post while Ed Davis (or maybe someone else, as Ed doesn't seem that swift out there either) is out away from the basket. Well, thinking about it I guess it's because we don't want Ed so far from the basket because he is a great rebounder. So Leonard would have to want rebounds more than he does now for that switch to work.

Talking about switches, something seemed to happen in the second half of that Philly game (and carried over to the next game). Leonard suddenly became a lot more active on defense and he was swinging his butt like a giant hammer to clear guys out of the way for rebounds. And at the same time he got more assertive about taking shots. (And his not taking shots is a really big thing; Stott's system is based on guys taking shots as soon as they have a good one; if they don't it throws everything off and can lead to desperation shots at shot time expiration).

I really want Leonard to be a great player and still have hope he can be one. But if I was a GM, I would be really scared to sign him to a long term contract. Sometimes he seems to have an attitude that he already has it made and doesn't have to keep clawing and scratching and fighting. And mentally, I just have this feeling if something happened like his wife breaking up with him, that he would fall totally apart, on and off the court.

 

After some minor technical difficulties this morning- the podcast has been recorded. Hope to have it up on iTunes by tomorrow!!

 

Meyers Leonard is garbage.

That is all.

 

One mans trash is another mans treasure.

That is all.

 

Let's find that man...

 

FTFY.

 

There are several important points to note in this well supported analysis made by Dan. They support the thread, Start Myers Leonard, from last month. (Please excuse the misspelling.)

Both on offense and defense, the optimized value that Meyers can bring to the Blazers has not been explored and needs to be determined without delay.

Meyers can be an offensive force for the Blazers, especially if the his multiple talents for shooting are featured to make scoring threats more unpredictable.

As an offensive weapon, Meyers in 2014-2015 was a member of the exclusive 50/40/90 club. And in the Dec 1 win over the Mavs, his 23 points included 4 swish3s.

Dan's read on the 76ers game offensive weakness is an important point. Meyers is the only Blazer who seems capable of pulling the defense out. And it is true that nearly everytime that Meyers has shot after a backdown, he has scored! It is time to give Meyers more post up opportunities than 1 per game.

Recently, Meyers has made 49% of his swish3 attempts, when good ball movement has given him open shots.

On defense, Meyers was 3rd best in the NBA close in and 5th best in rim protection. This defense should be featured by the Blazers. Instead it has seemingly been discouraged.

Meyers has shot blocking and rebounding talents shown at Illinois that should be developed as a Blazer. He does 1 on 1 blocks. He needs to be assigned to do post up defense.

Perhaps the greatest asset on defense is when Meyers uses his 7'3” wingspan up high to cause opponents to alter their shot trajectory, resulting in noticeably low shots made. This may be one of the most important points in strengthening the Blazer defense.

Meyers needs to be assigned to be the rim protector, rebounder, and paint protector instead of the swish3 defender. Meyers' success against Gasol in the Grizzlies game is powerful evidence.

When in the paint, Meyers succeeds in getting about 50% of his attempted rebounds, and could be averaging at least 10 per game with better positioning. With Meyers and Ed both in the game, rebounding improves.

As Dan has noted “my own personal belief is that Leonard has both the capacity to grow and the capabilities on the court to be a very solid player in this league. ...For the sake of the Blazers, I feel it would behoove them to give him extended minutes and a larger role this year to see if he can indeed realize his potential- to establish his market value and ascertain whether or not he’s a part of their plans going forward.” Perhaps we can agree!

Now that Meyers's shooting percentage is climbing again, it is important to encourage progress and give him the chance as Dan has explained. It is important to give Meyers the chance for enhancing Blazer success with Dan's one-of-two-things outcome number 2. The reasons to start Meyers Leonard, provide more minutes, and encourage swish3 shooting are strong.

 

Longest swish3 yet!

 

I forgot Meyers' wife's first name. What's your first name swish?

 

Curious to see if any teams offer Myers big money in the off season. I wouldn't mind keeping him for bench player money, but I'm guessing his size and three point shooting are going earn him a big money offer from at least one GM who thinks he's smarter than everyone else. I think the blazers will let him walk if that happens. I think he actually may be trade bait.

 

I've read several articles saying quite a few teams have inquired about Meyers...apparently no one has offered enough for Olshey to bite