Basketball-reference statistics show that the leading Blazer scoring in the 2019 Playoffs is Meyers, with 14 of 33 (42.4%) swish3s, 34 of 65 (52.3%) FG, and an eFG% of 63.1%. In the first half of WCF Game 4, Meyers was 5 of 6 swish3s and 10 of 12 FG, a shooting % of 83.3 that has not been achieved by any other Blazer. Has there ever been a better shooting performance by a Blazer in the Playoffs? What bothers me is the failure of some of the posters on this forum to recognize these accomplishments, and the out of touch criticism that stems from negative prejudice, rather than celebrating the positives. The influence of negative comments on players who must rely on confidence is definitely felt, as Meyers exit interview comments revealed. We have a major NBA Playoff record talent on this team who can make strong contributions in scoring and getting open shots for teammates that deserves to be recognized by Blazer fans. Meyers and all of the Blazers play better when they feel support of the fans. If the posters who disrespect Meyers, and Dame, and CJ, and Evan, could let go of the unthinking degrading (and sometimes in the game threads outright hate) comments, Blazer confidence and performance, i.e., wins, will improve. Let's recognize, appreciate, and rely on Blazer talent where we have it and allow the Champion Blazers to emerge next season!
This guy is a Meyers fan! You should be too! Just read the statistics and find another NBA player who can score Playoff swish3s with 75%+ efficiency. Meyers has done it twice.
@swish3 You do realize most people on this forum realize that Nard's has turned himself into an NBA role player right? He did this far before games 3 & 4 took place. Even the people like myself who wanted to glue his ass to the bench. Admit he's turned himself into a solid contributor the past 2 seasons. We don't have to say it every day for it to be true. The people who still 'hate' on Nards are those who have a blind hatred towards the GWH. Quote those posters like I have been doing and tell them their wrong with your stats.
We will miss you when he is finally off this team like he should have been 4 years ago. Hes not good enough. Never Will be. Just because hes good for games when were already down 0-3... Hes one of the worst re-signings weve ever had.
I have an odd take on ML. I appreciate that he's never been a bad locker room guy. I think he's a "nice" guy. I think he's one of the worst team defenders I've ever seen. I think he's a great shooter, and when he's confident to just shoot the ball he's a valuable role player. It was nice that the fans gave him some love, I think he's worked hard. I think you can tell he's worked to be better. His contract, well if NO is willing to give you a contract then sign it and who cares if people don't like it...
Leonard has some talent, but not all that much of it. Talent is shown in consistency--nearly any NBA player has the ability to erupt once every so often (or have one lifetime performance, like Tony Delk's 50 point game). The random big game is not what defines a player's ability, it's what they're capable of doing the majority of the time. The majority of the time, Leonard is an okay post defender, awful defender in space and inconsistent shooter. He has a place in the NBA as an end of the bench reserve, but he's significantly overpaid for that role.
Notice that Meyers in WCF Game 4 in the 1st half scored 25 points with 83.3% shooting, and that was the same as Steph Curry at his best, and better than other GSW or Blazer players. Meyers did this in the Jan 30 Jazz win, and holds the NBA Playoff record with 10 of 13. Meyers has scored swish3s with 40%+ efficiency in several seasons. He is a rare shooting talent who would be scoring 30+ points per game if Blazer coaches would better recognize and more fully utilize his rare talent with game plans to rely on his offensive potential.
He is a lucky guy. The only person in the NBA that would pay him after the first 4 disastrous years happens to be the GM of this team. This is the only team in the NBA where Meyers would play 14.4 minutes per game. If he gets traded he will be out of the league in a few months. Unfortunately I can see Olshey extending him. Meyers seems a good lockerroom guy but that's it. He doesn't offer anything else as in game the cons are way more than the pros.
Meyers has developed into a useful player. I applaud him for that. He can stay here as long as he's under contract as far as I'm concerned. I would not want to give him a new deal anywhere close to his current one though.
How unfortunate that you look at the facts and continue to deny excellent performance that is not bested even by the best in the NBA! Meyers has not had 4 bad years--in fact just 1--and has been badly treated by comments of some mean-spirited posters on this forum. If Meyers had received even a fraction of the optimism shown for Zach on this forum, he very likely would have played even better. It is time to put your disrespectful negative comments in the past, and look at the facts, and think forward to the increased wins that are ahead for us.
I think some of the hate ML’s gotten is crazy if Im being honest. Im not a ML fan / apologist, but people act like he’s the entire problem on the roster at times. 5m a year actually seems about right...
I don't. I was part of it. I was tired of seeing him clueless on D and lost on O. He has all that physical presence but was softer than this guy: Then he started shooting threes.... I used to be at the game yelling "MEYERS PATRICK LEONARD YOU STOP SHOOTING THOSE THREES!!!" That's when he went from 56 dunks in his rookie season to 53 dunks the NEXT 3 YEARS. The "hate" was deserved especially when it came to that check he was getting.
NBA players are more motivated by opportunities to excel and win than by annual salaries, and thus the player contract discussion seems out of the realm of normal fan discussion. Given that the most consistent criticism of Meyers has been his salary, but noting that there are many NBA players paid much, even much more, than him, I think fans should focus on basketball and not contract negotiations. What matters to Meyers, Nurk, Mo, Chief, Zach, Rodney, Jake, Skal, and others is the team winning with cohesiveness and poise while playing to help each other to optimize use of Blazer talent. To get to the Championship, I think we should focus on Blazer coaching that includes game plans to maximize scoring while providing highly determined consistent defense. That maintained energy level will come by active substitutions that are noticeably improving in these Playoffs and which need to continue to progress. When we include enough min and swish3 attempts for Meyers in these highly contested Playoff games, we are improving and on the way to the Championship.
Contracts are part of normal fan discussion because the more Meyers gets, the less we have to spend on other players. I'm sure you understand this.
For 7 seasons ML has shined nearly every time he has been in the rotation, which is more than you can say for several forwards who get big minutes. GS clearly had no clue how to defend or score against him and had Stotts been using him all year we’d likely have beaten GS. He’s easily our best defender in the post to start next season, and our most efficient scorer out of all our bigs. An absolute steal at his salary.
