I haven't been to a practice in over 10 years (good god I can't believe it's been that long), but I'd be willing to bet he can hit jumpers all day on the practice floor. The issue is in a game. That's a confidence thing. He's already tentative about taking the ball to the rack. Getting him to sack up and start taking/and making jumpers is going to be harder than just having a high IQ. Confidence isn't something you can teach. It has to come from within.
If that's the case then that's good news because he will gain that confidence. I however am not confident that he's hitting jumpers all day at practice. But the dog is right, he's very high IQ and will have a good opportunity to improve that part of his game.
You would be surprised. I like to use this as an example quite a bit, but Dale Davis was fucking money from mid-range on the practice floor. Couldn't miss. It was virtually automatic. Nobody really considered him a sure thing in a game though. I mean, I would love for Plumlee to turn into Dale Davis from about 10-12 feet. Hell, I'd love for him to turn into Rolo from 10 or so feet. I'm just not sure if it's going to happen... You think it's as simple as just building confidence, but guys like Martell and Telfair constantly battled with a lack of confidence, and Telfair had every reason to be one cocky SOB.
Dame said Mason works really hard at free throws and it's paying off...he needs an offensive game in the paint..become a better finisher
Plumlee doesn't even need a jumper, he just needs to perfect the floater and learn how to cock back and slam shit in someone's face.
Becomes more interesting the more I think about it. 0/50 player combinations used by Stotts this season featured both Plumlee and Davis. Wonder what would have happened if we put Plumlee at the 4. He must not be knocking down all his shots in practice like Nate thinks, or we would have at least seen it attempted in a game... http://stats.nba.com/league/lineups/#!/?Season=2015-16&SeasonType=Regular Season&TeamID=1610612757
The big issue with Dwight is his inability to thrive in the pick and roll. He doesn't with Harden, he didn't with Nash. Why would he thrive at this late a stage with Portland? I have to believe Portland will approach him. They'll show him tape of our offense and ask him how he feels about setting quality picks 15 times/night at the three point line and then running to the rim, looking for the dish or the rebound. If he seems genuinely excited about the idea, I bet we extend an offer. If he doesn't, we don't. But he's going to get asked that by every good team. No team with hopes of deep playoff success wants to sign Dwight for a max deal so they can throw it into him in the post 6-8 times a night. Possessions at the elite level are too valuable to waste on that fool's errand.
I see so many post putting Meyers in the sarting line-up. What make you think he will be good when he has been trash then injured all year ?
As one of Meyers biggest detractors during the season, I came around to him. You need him to space the floor... That is what the question was, and he can space the floor WAY over Plums.
fuck all that noise. he looks clueless as hell out there, struggles guarding the 4, and if the only thing he brings to the lineup is 'spacing' and eating up swish3y attempts, noooooooooooooooooooo thanks. He's had a few ok games, but he doesnt do anything close to what we need our PF to do. If we somehow get someone like Dwight, we're gonna need an Aminu to play with him, and having plum & davis off the bench - zero room for meyers. plus hopefully someone overpays for him and he walks. ya know, betting on himself etc.
Given the defensive porousness of Lillard and CJ, we have to have guys at the 3/4 who are extremely mobile and effective on switches--guys who can challenge three point shooters and have the athleticism to go up for blocks at the rim, but may be prone to abuse by bigger men in the post. It's the way the game is going. It's also Stotts' defensive philosophy. Challenge threes, challenge at the rim, force contested midrange shots. Meyers can't get out to the three point line, and he doesn't intimidate at the rim. The one thing he's good for on defense is post defense, but it's not that helpful except against a few teams, and most of those teams don't stand between us and a championship. Better versions of Harkless and Aminu are the ideal fit, not non-mobile stiffs like Meyers. It should be patently obvious to Hark and Aminu they need to practice a ton of three pointers this summer. If they could hit threes as reliably as Meyers it'd make a world of difference. Hark is 22, Aminu 25, and we have other quality young athletes in Connaughton and Cliff Alexander who may show us something in a year or two. I'm all for adding more proven veteran guys at 3-5 and not waiting on the youngsters, but I think the mold needs to be of that 6'7 to 6'9 rangy quick athlete with a three point shot over a more traditional-sized Meyers/Ed Davis-like power forward. I do think we need legit size at the center position though. Watching DeAndre Jordan swallow up everything at the rim game after game made me jealous. It's probably the single biggest reason I'm coming around more and more on Dwight Howard.
I mean a lot of people here say Aminu should be comming of the bench, but suddenly Leonard is a starter ? Give me a break
The more I think about it the more I warm to the idea of having Howard here. He hasn't appeared very likeable but he's found himself in some very frustrating teams over the length of his career, it's easy to get frustrated in the current Rockets team. If he could play at his best and regain some of his best form from the past then he may be worth it on a 2-year contract. I'd be opposed to handing him a long expensive deal as he'll definitely decline in the next few years and you don't want yourself tied to a player who may no longer produce the goods in a season or two. He's far from my first choice but he'd almost definitely improve the team.