If this were the scenario, hypothetically the coach would know to let Leonard play to his current strengths: hitting wide open jumpers, good FT shooting, enthusiastic if uncoordinated rebounding.
I've been saying this for so long. Why did it take the coaching staff so long to see? So we all know he's not a rim protector, but he can make up for it by hitting shots off the bench. We just need our bench to keep even. It's tough for defenses to guard 7'1 shooters, Meyers should get a lot more shots off the bench as opposed to the crap Mo Williams throws up.
I also call bullshit on all the stretch 4 shit people are talking about. The kid is big (7'1" 250 lbs), Long (7'3" reach), and athletic (32 inch Vert). I don't give a crap what his "skill set" is. Um... newsflash, the doesn't have a skillset! He is not skilled (His jump shot is his only skill). Sooooo, since we knew he was a project from the beginning, force him LEARN to get in and fucking bang and rebound because that's what ALL centers do. Even the ones who have good jumpers out to 3pt range (Sabonis). If he can't learn to bang, rebound, and defend, SHIP HIS ASS. Meyers Beiber has no experience doing much of anything. Repetition will make him better. This whole "he is what he is" bullshit is so shortsighted. It's his 2nd year and he is still a kid.
Hack up that bone, dawg, it's causing you too much aggravation! Look, Leonard has a LOT to learn to be an effective NBA center. He's already said that he knows he blew some box outs last night and his rebounding isn't where it should be. He's a work in progress and we're not going see the finished product this season, or likely next season. That said, I find the whole notion that 7 footers shouldn't shoot perimeter shots, if they have that skill, to be silly. Just because most big men can't shoot from the perimeter doesn't mean that those who can should be forced to play the game the same way as those guys who can't hit a shot from more than 5' from the basket. Stotts has a great talent for innovation on offense and I'm pretty confident he'll find ways to make use of Meyer' abilities to make perimeter jumpers. I'm equally confident that if Meyers doesn't improve at doing the grunt work on the boards and setting picks, he's not going to continue to be in the rotation at all.
We have enough players who can shoot the 3. We are #1 in the league at it. The team doesn't need it because no team will beat us in that stat this season. What we do need is what MM said: Rebounding and Defense. Since that's the primary reason we brought him in, he should be focused like a LASER on doing that. It seems to me that he is not.
As I see it, Stotts is looking for ways to avoid the offensive letdown that comes whenever the second unit goes in. Basically, when Aldridge sits down, there's no longer the threat of a big man sticking a shot from range so teams collapse their defense and our offense grinds to a halt. If Meyers can add a bit of what LMA offers, it keeps Stotts' offensive game plan working. It's not classic basketball, but it's been pretty darned effective.
Someone really needs to tell Ryan Anderson that he's a Power Forward, and he has no business shooting three pointers . I don't give a fuck how good he is at it (4-8 last night), it's just not right. Same with Channing Frye (4-6 last night). And Kevin Love. Get your azzes under the basket where they belong, and stop hurting your teams by making the most efficient shot in basketball at a high rate.
Granted. And it's difficult for the guy guarding him to do the same. It's also difficult for any shooter to offensive rebound most times (unless you are doing the Moses Malone/Zach Randolph bit). LaMarcus isn't getting any on his fade-aways. Anybody besides Brian still want him to stop shooting those? Certainly you don't want your big guys jacking up shots without a game plan to have someone else in position for a board. Lest I be misunderstood: I'm not a big proponent of big guys playing away from the basket in general. I'm sure Stotts is more comfortable with it than I am. But this notion that any player should never do the things they do best, just seems illogical. Meyers is a good shooter. If he's open, he should shoot. That's basketball.
I'm not against jump shots, but I would prefer a better balance of inside and outside play. LA took way too many outside jumpers last night. I'm also not against a big man shooting a three here or there, but Love has games where he shoots 11 three pointers. I just find that ridiculous. I'm not a fan of it. I guess the Wolves can get away with it because they have Pek, but then again they're under .500 so it isn't working that well for them.
I'm not sure I even want Meyers shooting threes. LaMarcus doesn't, except in rare circumstances. This hysteria some people have about Meyers shooting threes seems premature and, well, hysterical. He's a good shooter though. Stotts wants him to shoot. He should do what the coach wants.
Just to add: The coach also wants him to play interior defense, box out, and rebound. He needs to really focus on those things, no doubt. He also wants him to set screens on the pick and roll / pick and pop. Unless they are running the pop at the three point line, he shouldn't have that many chances to show off his supposed three point shooting skills.
The thing all three of those bigs you mentioned have in common. They are on lottery teams. Just sayin' Well Frye isn't now, but they have two low post players
I'm a fan of bigs that can shoot. I just worry about the other things. Leonard is just terrible with help D and gets pushed out too much. I wished he did the pushing!
I don't think the problem is him rebounding his own misses.. It's the fact that since he's an outside player, he won't be near the hoop when other people shoot.
The hysteria isn't so much about Meyers shooting threes, it was about Meyers spending all summer working on his three point shot. Most people were upset that he spent his free time working on threes instead of working on a post game or learning how to defend/rebound better. Freeland spent the summer becoming a gritty post player. Meyers spent the summer doing his best impression of Dirk Nowitzki. That's what pissed people off.
