Those are TEAM stats, not individual stats. All that really tells us is Detroit's bench wasn't much worse than their not very good starters and that the Blazers bench historically sucked compared to our starters, which were far above average and capable of holding their own against any other starting five in the entire league. You are penalizing Meyers Leonard because he was the best player on the worst bench in the history of the league. BNM
Pretty encouraging stat. Nice find. Comparing him to Drummond--the absolute steal of the draft who should have gone in the top 3 and will almost certainly be a superstar now that he seems to have answered concerns about his motor--is not particularly useful.
Leonard doesn't have even 1/10th the defensive potential Drummond does. Drummond is going to be an all-star center pretty easily in a few years. Write it down.
Exactly! But hey, let's continue to cry about what we don't have and fantasize about what we can never get. Yeah, that's productive... BNM
The real question for next year has nothing to do with Drummond. The real question has to do with the reaction of opposing centers. When ML checks in do they just yawn or do they lick their lips? We don't need superstardom, we just need the opponents to stop licking their lips when ML checks in.
serious question: going forward, if you weren't to think of Leonard as a Center, but as a 7'1 PF who played like a homeless man's Dirk (or a 2013 version of Steve Novak or Ryan Anderson), would it change your idea of him? I mean, I get it--he's not going to be Shaq. Or Drummond. Or Tyson Chandler. But I wouldn't trust any of those players with the ball 12 feet from the hoop. I get that this team still needs a rebounder/paint-defender, etc...but you don't find a ton of 7'1 guys who work hard, have a good motor, are athletic and have a tangible NBA skill (shooting, in this case).
He compared a stat to completely dismiss your stats for Leonard. Your "case" for why Leonard sucks was destroyed.
This is the main point. Leonard is either an asset or he isn't. If he isn't an asset, then we should waive him. If he is an asset, then we should get the most out of him that we can, whether it is by playing to his strengths or trading him for something that fits our needs. Instead, some posters would prefer to whine that an asset we already have is completely useless because it isn't as valuable as an asset somebody else has.
Yep, and I did to show that even a highly regarded total stud center gave up more points than he scored as a rookie. That's the danger of using a single stat to try to bash (or praise) a player (especially a rookie big man). You used that exact same stat to bash Myers Leonard. So, Leonard is a total bust, but Drummond is a can't miss all-star? Is there no middle ground? Even if Meyers isn't as good as Drummond in the long run, he can still be a very good player and worthy of his draft position. We didn't have the option of picking Drummond over Leonard (we could have picked Drummond over Lillard, but that's a different thread). So, crying about want we don't have and bashing what we do just doesn't seem all that productive (or enjoyable) to me. But then bashing our current players seems to be your thing, so have at it. Be sure to trash Meyers in every thread. I think you may have missed one or two. Oh, and don't forget to tell us for the millionth time that Aldridge is leaving and the sky is falling. Someone may have missed that the first 999,999 times. And, it's not like it ever gets old. BNM
You think that's the only stat I've used to say I don't like Meyeres Leonard as a basketball player? I'm pretty sure I've referenced his poor rebounding numbers numerous times. I don't like centers that don't play defense and don't rebound. I don't get why this position is so controversial around here. Drummond DOES rebound. Drummond has shown flashes of elite defensive potential. Drummond does play tough in the paint.
I agree. There are 4 or 5 solid nega-Blazers here who just look for reactions from other posters these days.
WTF does Drummond have to do with Leonard??? Drummond was a 38% FT shooter last year, fwiw. Weren't you just whining about how Leonard can't score without being "fed" the ball? If offense doesn't matter, why did you even bring that up?
