In the DEN Playoff Game 4, Enes scored only 5 points, 10 rebounds, 0 assists, 0 steals, 1 block, and 4 turnovers, and could not always box out Jokic, probably because he was fatigued and injured. Enes deserves a break by substituting Meyers for him, who has shown that he not only can lead Blazer swish3 and TS% scoring, make more points per FGA, set excellent screens, pass, rebound, and hustle, but also get the wins. Meyers has the talent, energy, and strength to counter Jokic, and provides a high post challenge that requires different defense, opens spacing, and gets open shots for teammates. We need to include Meyers talents that we remember from the Jan 30 win over the Jazz in these Playoff Games, and with those additional 17 points per game, we can win the Championship!
Enes, which is remarkable considering the way he played when he first came to us, stays for playing very good defense, and for inspiration purposes. Meyers maybe deserves some run but Enes has come this far and should continue to start. But I want us to not give up on feeding him the ball, even if he's in pain, we can't just give up on using him offensively, he'll play through this pain, he's a warrior
I agree, but it seems clear that after the 4 OT game Friday and considering the shoulder injury, watching Enes for signs of being fatigued, like being a bit slow on defense, getting outrebounded, not setting screens, and not being in position to make assist passes should be the signal for substituting Meyers who is being overlooked. It will probably help Enes a lot if he has the backup that lets him play hard until he needs the break, and can rely on Meyers for strong offensive and defensive play while he is on the bench. We can look forward to the best from both Enes and Meyers, and will probably be able to maintain the target 20-30 points from the Center position that makes wins highly likely. Given that Enes played 56 min in Game 3 Friday, Meyers could have played 20 min in this Game 4. I think we would have won it.
Terry Stotts said this about the 3rd Q: "We didn’t have a lot of pop in the third quarter, we were a little flat and that gave them some momentum. We went into the locker room at halftime with that momentum and we kind of gave it away.” Given this analysis, the imperative to provide Enes with relief by playing Meyers to provide new energy, swish3 scoring, rebounds, and defense seems even stronger! Let's call on Meyers as a leading Blazer talent, rather than inflexibly playing Zach, in the rest of the Playoff games in order to win the Round 2 series, WCF, and NBA Championship!
It is good that you are not a Blazers coach, Sarni. Your bias against Meyers and failure to recognize his team leading stats is strongly evident on this forum. However, it would be a waste to fail to rely on Meyers for his offensive and defensive talents, demonstrated well in the Jan 30 win over the Jazz and his Baskeball-Reference season standings, to win in these Playoffs. The Blazers need to optimize talent to complete this run to the Championship!
Well it seems like coaches across the league do not recognize his star potential either so I'm in good company. Playing Meyers is not talent optimization unless everyone else is hurt.
Well everyone else is hurt. Our starting center has a broken leg, Our back up center has a separated shoulder. Meyers while not my first or second choice to play has to get some minutes. He got a few in the OKC series and historically has done ok against Denver so not playing him to me sounds like bullshit. They had Plumlee and Jockitch out there and we had no answer except for Collins to get 3 quick fouls and a technical. So yeah it is time to put in Meyers and it should have happened last night
I agree with all of the sentiments here. Stotts had a golden opportunity to open his bench in the 3rd quarter and put in fresh legs of Meyers, Jake, a hot Seth, and some spot minutes for Simons, and perhaps he would have if the Blazers had kept that 6 point halftime lead until midway through the quarter, but he panicked when Denver made a run early in the 3rd and left his starters in way too long. No one play lost last night's game, and neither did the refs. The Blazers simply ran out of gas at the wrong time and when they recovered it was too late. I will say this: Dame had a TERRIBLE overall game, CJ and Kanter had subpar games as well, and the Blazers only lost by 4. This bodes well for Tuesday.
I think the other thing about playing Meyers some is he sets good screens. Zach and Enes don't set good screens. The guards get over their screens easily and Meyers wipes people out. I think it would help open up Dame a little by putting in Meyers just for the screening aspect.
