With 41 games completed, the Blazers are at the mid-way point of the season. Time to give out some grades: The Team Record (2017-18): 22 W - 19 L Last Year (2016-17): 18 W - 23 L The Blazers are 4 games ahead of last year's pace. There were some high expectations for this team going into this season. The Blazers had a relatively easy schedule early, and were riding the momentum of 'Nurk Fever' finishing out last year. There have been some nice quality wins (W SAS, 111-110), and some ugly losses (L ATL, 110-89). All things considered, the Blazers are currently in 5th place in a loaded Western Conference. Grade: B- Damian Lillard 2017-18: 25.0 ppg, 6.4 apg, 4.9 rpg, 1.1 spg, TS% 0.571, PER 22.6 2016-17: 27.0 ppg, 5.9 apg, 4.9 rps, 0.9 spg, TS% 0.586, PER 24.1 Although Dame's stats have taken a slight step back, he's still the leader of this team, playing at a very high level. Grade: A- CJ McCollum 2017-18: 21.6 ppg, 3.4 apg, 4.2 rpg, 1.0 spg, TS% 0.547, PER 17.5 2016-17: 23.0 ppg, 3.6 apg, 3.6 rps, 0.9 spg, TS% 0.585, PER 19.9 CJ has struggled a bit this year, and his stats have dipped. However, he did pick up a significant amount of the load during Dame's absence due to injury, winning a good percentage of those games. Grade: B- Jusuf Nurkic 2017-18: 14.6 ppg, 8.0 rpg, 1.2 bpg, 1.9 apg, TS% 0.493, PER 16.0 2016-17: 15.2 ppg, 10.4 rpg, 1.9 bps, 3.2 apg, TS% 0.545, PER 21.1 Nurk Fever is gone. What remains is a serviceable starting center. It's hard not to be disappointed, but all things considered, he's only 23. My guess is he still has upside. Hopefully we see that upside in a Blazer uniform. Grade: C+ Al-Farouq Aminu 2017-18: 9.4 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 1.1 apg, 0.9 spg, TS% 0.541, PER 11.3 2016-17: 8.7 ppg, 7.4 rpg, 1.6 apg, 1.0 spg, TS% 0.506, PER 11.3 Although his FG3% has taken a nice jump up this year, his overall impact to the game has remained about the same (11.3 PER). Aminu's biggest impact is on the defensive end. Grade: B- Evan Turner 2017-18: 8.7 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 2.4 apg, 0.7 spg, TS% 0.523, PER 10.0 2016-17: 9.0 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 3.2 apg, 0.8 spg, TS% 0.491, PER 11.4 With a contract of $17M/yr (3rd highest on the team), it's hard not to expect more. His stats are down across the board from last year, and his PER is barely hanging on to double digits. Grade: C- Maurice Harkless 2017-18: 5.7 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 0.7 apg, 0.7 spg, TS% 0.570, PER 10.2 2016-17: 10.0 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 1.1 apg, 1.1 spg, TS% 0.533, PER 13.1 Mo has taken a significant step back this year. All of his stats are down. He continues to tease us with flashes of athleticism and the occasional great game. But at age 24, with a contract that extends 2 years after this season, how much upside is left? Have we seen his peak? Grade: D+ Shabazz Napier 2017-18: 9.8 ppg, 2.2 apg, 2.3 rpg, 1.3 spg, TS% 0.595, PER 17.9 2016-17: 4.1 ppg, 0.6 apg, 1.2 rpg, 0.6 spg, TS% 0.533, PER 13.6 Wow. When the Blazers needed someone to step up in Dame's absence, Napier seized the moment. Most of his stats have double from last season. With a PER of 17.9, 'Bazz would be a starter on many NBA teams. Grade: A Pat Connaughton 2017-18: 6.4 ppg, 1.2 apg, 2.2 rpg, TS% 0.591, PER 10.3 2016-17: 2.5 ppg, 0.7 apg, 1.3 rpg, TS% 0.645, PER 11.8 When the Blazers traded Crabbe in the off season, they needed someone to earn the available minutes. Pat has stepped up. His minutes per game has risen from 8.1 to 19.9, and his field goal attempts has risen from 1.8 to 5.1. With that being said, his PER has dropped to 10.3, reflecting his limited overall impact on the game. Grade: B Ed Davis 2017-18: 5.3 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 0.7 bpg, TS% 0.579, PER 15.2 2016-17: 4.3 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 0.5 bpg, TS% 0.563, PER 11.5 Ed knows his game, and he does is well. Rebound. Defend. Hustle. His numbers might not be gaudy, but every team needs a guy like Ed to do the dirty work. Grade: B+ Noah Vonleh 2017-18: 4.0 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 0.4 bpg, TS% 0.557, PER 12.6 2016-17: 4.4 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 0.4 bpg, TS% 0.525, PER 10.8 Out of the 41 games of the season so far, Noah has only played in 27 games. He can defend, and he can rebound. But he hasn't shown the development in his offensive game to make him a consistent contributor. Grade: C- Zach Collins 2017-18: 4.0 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 0.4 bpg, TS% 0.443, PER 7.6 After a poor showing in summer league, and and a slow start to the season, Zach has stepped up his game and eared some quality minutes as of late. With his solid defense, good rebounding instincts, and a nice looking jumper all the way out to the 3 pt line, Zach brings much promise to the future. Grade: B Meyers Leonard 2017-18: 5.2 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 0.5 apg, TS% 0.690, PER 19.2 2016-17: 5.4 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 1.0 apg, TS% 0.507, PER 8.9 Now in his 6th season, Leonard is what he is. He can shoot. That's it. He's only seen action in 13 games so far this year. Needless to say (but I will), his contract of $10M/yr for two more years is one of the worst in the league. Grade: F- Caleb Swanigan 2017-18: 2.6 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 0.6 apg, TS% 0.409, PER 7.4 Drafted at #26, Caleb has shown heart. He's a good rebounder and has a decent jumper, but is limited on the defensive end. Grade: C+ Jake Layman 2017-18: 1.4 ppg, 0.7 rpg, 0.3 apg, TS% 0.358, PER 4.2 2016-17: 2.2 ppg, 0.7 rpg, 0.3 apg, TS% 0.404, PER 4.9 His jumper looks great. It should go in, right? Well, I think we have a large enough sample size now to confidently say looks aren't everything. His PER of 4.2 tells most of the story. Grade: D Let see your report card. What grades would you give out? Go Blazers!
But Meyers has played well when he's gotten minutes. So there's no way he couldve gotten anything better... lol
Maybe I'll take this as a homework project this weekend, but I'm intrigued at "what happened?" I mean, sure, it could be motivation. My gut tells me that his FG% within 10' (esp. within 3') is way down this year b/c he's doing less dunking and more "WTF wuz that?!11?!" garbage near the rim? Is it b/c that extra 30# gave him more confidence last year? Team told him not to risk himself as much? Maybe my eye test is waaaaaay off? I feel like a B- for Chief is kind of low. He is who we thought he was, but surprisingly a better shooter. His D is still his calling card, he has the same cost/min as Vonleh (love that stat, btw), his TS% is much higher than his usual, and as long as he isn't dribbling he's a net positive on offense. He makes about 70% the salary of what Mo and Meyers each make. He makes about 40% Turner's salary. So he's a relative bargain, decent on offense, big part of a big defensive resurgence, and defers to Dame. What's not to like? For similar reasons, I'd have Big Ed as an A or A- also. Literally don't know what more you'd want from the guy from the Ideal Projection we had when we brought him in.
Not sure what salary has to do with these grades. Are you grading based on performance, or value? Either way, no way in hell should Meyer's have a worse grade than Layman. At least he does one thing well. Layman is a shooter who can't shoot, which makes him worthless. View attachment 17905 Jake Layman 2017-18: 1.4 ppg, 0.7 rpg, 0.3 apg, TS% 0.358, PER 4.2 2016-17: 2.2 ppg, 0.7 rpg, 0.3 apg, TS% 0.404, PER 4.9 His jumper looks great. It should go in, right? Well, I think we have a large enough sample size now to confidently say looks aren't everything. His PER of 4.2 tells most of the story. Grade: D[/QUOTE] Just look at these percentages and tell me who deserves the F- Meyers Leonard: FG% = .600 3FG% = .538 eFG% = .678 TS% = .690 Jake Layman: FG% = .294 3FG% = .200 eFG% = .338 TS% = .358 Neither plays much, but when they do, Meyers is > 2x as likely to make his shots. He is also a better rebounder and a better passer. Layman looks smooth, fluid and confident, but the actual results are abysmal. Yeah, I get that Meyers isn't the stud we all wish he was, but the hatred he gets around here borders on irrational while Layman seems to get a free pass (relatively speaking) for some reason. You didn't happen to be one of the fans that booed him at the Milwaukee game, were you? What a totally classless act. BNM
Giving out grades is going to be subjective. That's part of the fun. I tried to take into account not only their stats, but also their expectations and salaries. I've been a season ticket holder (with the family) now for 42 years. (Yes, I was a kid going to Blazer games in 1975) Thru the good and the bad. I've never booed the team. I've got nothing personal against Meyers. He seems like a good guy. Unfortunately, I don't see how his performance this year could be worse. The coach isn't even putting him in when the Blazers are up (or down) by 20 with 2 minute left. Heck, take the last game against OKC as an example. Layman got 2 minutes. Leonard DNPCD. I root for Leonard when he's in the game. I want to see my team do well. After 6 seasons now in the league, he is what he is, and it sucks that our GM made such a poor decision to tie up so much money on a player that rarely plays. Giving him the F- might have been a bit of a fun jab. He probably only deserved an F. Show me your report card. I'm always curious of other fans perspectives, especially yours. (I love reading your posts.)
Really? His numbers are good in limited minutes. That should be an Incomplete, not a F-. It ought to be easy to see how his performance could be worse. Look up Layman in the dictionary for an example...
His performance this year isn't why he's not getting playing time. The Stotts/Leonard relationship is strained. I think Stotts has completely written Meyers off. I can totally see Meyers going somewhere else and having a decent career as a 8/9/10th man. But that will never happen here in Portland.
This kinda feels like we're trying to decide who has the ugliest dog. I agree that Meyers is a 'better' basketball player than Layman. But other than just stats, I also tried to take into account age, expectations and salaries. How easy would it be to trade these guys? Both probably aren't desired by other teams. But Layman is still relatively young and on a rookie contract, with a bit of potential upside. Meyers has the 5th highest salary on the Blazers, locked in for two more years. My guess is that no team will be touching that unless we add quite a bit of sweetener. My dog is the ugliest.
Great job Bounce! Bone’s potty mouth aside, I thought you totally nailed it. Very thoughtfully and objectively done, with little, if any “homerism”. I agree with your assessments almost 100%.