Zach Collins is going to have to be our most important bench piece in the next round, whether we play Aldridge or Jokic. Kanter is gonna have his hands full guarding the big guys they have, foul trouble may/will happen. I think this could be Zach’s breakout series with his defensive ability.
Collins is going to be fantastic in round 2. Adams was a beast and I like Collins vs. Denver or San Antonio–whomever it is.
I understand optimism but sometimes, it seems like optimism runs a little too hot the net on-off plus/minus in the just completed series: Damian Lillard +37.5 Meyers Leonard +12.9 (47 minutes) Al-Farouq Aminu +9.7 Enes Kanter +8.1 Maurice Harkless +7.7 CJ McCollum +5.3 Seth Curry 0.0 Rodney Hood -12.0 Evan Turner -19.9 Zach Collins -32.1 so, if I'm understanding the OP correctly, the guy who was such a disaster against Adams/Noel/Morris is going to "breakout" against Jokic/Millsap/Plumlee or Aldridge/Poeltl/Bertrans. I suppose he could be ok against the Spurs but I've seen nothing to warrant much confidence. And the Nuggets look like a major mismatch
Two words: Skal Labissiere. I have been wondering about Stott's next move, if Kanter isn't 100%. Jokic is a different animal than Adams. We know Dame has been out best player this series. Who has been our second best player? Chief, Mo, Enes or CJ? We know CJ is the king of the midrange. But overall ... seems to me that Chief has been great.
Zach was +10 with Turner off in 20 or so minutes (not including garbage time at end of game 3). Zach is fine when he's played in optimal lineups. It's played out that way both in the playoffs and in the regular season. Problem is that he's still somewhat match up dependent and has good options ahead him that limit his opportunities to play with our better players. Could get more of one in round 2 depending on matchup and/or foul trouble, but we'll see how it works out.
From this measure, the reasons to play Meyers with a mandate to score at least 3 swish3s, set screens, make key passes, rebound, bother shots, and hustle are evident. Zach provides defense but should have fewer min than Meyers because of turnovers, failing to box out, and lapses, times when Meyers would be better. Especially against Jokic/Millsap/Plumblee or Aldridge/Poetl/Bertrans, Meyers is stronger and can alternate with Enes to provide strong Center play. Round 2 is the time for substitutions and off-ball floor patterns that optimize scoring by Meyers and Enes, using Zach as a Forward. We need distributed swish3 scoring in which our best shooters Meyers and Seth, each contribute from 3 to 5 swish3s each, on the way to ramping up to the 20+ swish3s per game that may be needed to win the Championship. Let's see Zach, Meyers, and Seth each contribute 10+ points per game going forward!
Meyers is due to make a string after only attempting a few shots in few min. The 1 of 5 swish3s is due to lacking the game plan that mandates Meyers 6 swish3 attempts. The season 3P% of 45, his 10 of 13 Playoffs NBA Record, and consistent leading 1.46+ points/FGA, 67.4 TS%, ORtg of 129, and favorable +/- make a strong case for relying on Meyers to add to the success on the way to the Championship!
If you notice that everyone with the plus in front of there name they was all starters and the others was the bench. Might had the reason why he was minus. Like I said before that stat is most over rate stat in the NBA. Zach out play Leonard Curry Turner Hood in that series but they all had better plus minus stat.
True. But that's underperforming for him. He shoots well normally and historically had played well in the playoffs. Meyers and Zach should both get run next series no matter who we play.
If Enes is hurt we can do a little bit of Meyers. Gosh can't believe I'm suggesting that. I just don't think Collins is ready he was a disaster in the 1st round. We may see a lot of minutes with Aminu or Harklessat the 5. Jokic plays more like a PG and neither team has an interior force so I think it could be a good option.
The Blazers are leaving 10+ points out that can be relied on from Meyers when not running the game plan off-ball pattern that allows his combination of swish3 and dunk2 scoring, and his screens and passing have been good in the Playoffs. Distributed scoring with 30+ points from the Centers and 30+ from the bench, assuming 15+ swish3s scored, is the formula for winning!
The thing here is situation and match ups change. Kanter was a negative during the season. What changed?
Meyers seemed tense in his shooting, like Mo. Neither were even close on their outside shooting. Hopefully the first round jitters are over and they can rise to their mean. We know Meyers can make shots.