This is a thread I intend to bump when we finally dump Meyers and he starts to turn into a useful player. What is he missing? What is he doing wrong? IMO he thinks too much - he doesn't let the game come to him. When he gets the ball on the perimeter the first thing he does is look to pass like the ball has an ebola/aids hybrid. How can you fix ...him? Take a page out of LeBron's book regarding Kyle Korver: when you get the ball SHOOT! "That's why you're out there." When/if he does this (here or elsewhere) he can be a decent backup:
He's too slow, mentally and physically. It seems like Aldridge plays quicker now that he's with San Antonio, but at least Aldridge could shoot when he was with us. He also has poor basketball instincts on the defensive end, it's mind boggling that he has as few blocks as he does or that I get as excited as I do when he does something right including a contested defensive rebound. So yeah, you're right maybe he thinks too much, but either way he's too slow.
What is he doing wrong????? He thinks he's Larry Bird and Dirk Nowitzki for fucks sake. Fuck him and the team that encourages him to take threes. Or allows it or whatever fucking problem they have. Just a handful of games watching the team thrive with Nurkic ought to GIVE THEM A FUCKING CLUE WHAT'S WRONG
What is he doing wrong? He is thinking Basketball is not a thinking mans game. It is a reactionary game. It is an awareness game His reactioned are slow, his awareness is limited. You cantr improve this with time spent in the practice facilioty. Its mental. Ive said it many times. Ireally realy feel for the kid, but he is just too slow in making decisions. Something that @BlazerCaravan pointed out to me at a game and the light bulb for me went off. It isnt his postiioning, slow release or any of the things that he could actually work on and improve. Its his motor skills between his ears. Unfortunately he is rolling around with a Harley in his head instead of a crotch rocket. and the NBA is a crotch rocket game. Not a Harley game. Meyers would best be served joining the Olympic diving team or something. He has the body of a suped up Greg Luganis. Have Legend make a splash in the pool.... or something, because the hardwood is just not gonna do him any good. Except he already made $40 mill..... I wish you the best Meyers, and hope you can find something to help you take it to the next level, but if you do, it wont be found on the court or with the coaches. It will be found on a couch with a shrink, or some peyote in the desert.
He was a 6'6" guard in high school. He is more comfortable on the perimeter, and unlike guys like the Admiral, who grew a shit ton in high school as well, he doesn't seem to have the heart to bang down low and learn that game. He is also very immature (his college coaches words, not mine). May have the worst basketball instincts I have ever seen. Very slow reactionary time. He's in the league because he's 7'1", not because he has NBA talent.
Immaturity can often be spawned in part by lack of confidence. Don't feel like your growing up? then you aren't gonna act like it.
This. I had a buddy of mine, Gary, whom I haven't seen in a few years. He was over 6'4" tall and well over 300 lbs at his heaviest (he told me once that when we were working together years ago he was pushing 400 lbs). All that size, with the self-confidence of a terrified shrew; most likely brought on by being bullied as a child. And it showed in his immaturity as an adult and his need to bully people with his size and constantly having to be the center of attention. I went to his mother's funeral, and in the months leading up to her death (cancer), he made the entire ordeal about him. Annoyed the fuck out of me so bad, and yet I couldn't say anything because...you know....his mother was dying. Nothing was ever his fault: his failed relationships, his failed jobs.....always somebody else's fault. I haven't seen him since probably 2013, and if he's been in jail since then, it wouldn't surprise me. Meyers reminds me a lot of Gary. I've seen parallels between the two of them for a while now.
Meyers Leonard needs to work on one thing this summer. Meyers needs to stand 3-4 ft away from the basket possibly right on the restricted area line. He needs to jump from every angle on the court and slam the ball into the hoop. Left side, Right side, Hammer throw down. windmill. Work on palming the ball and doing one handed explosive jams. Work on jumping from both one foot and two feet. Two handed dunks and reverse dunks. Sideways...Frontways...Backwards. Doesn't matter at all if he practices anything else. Any time he is in the gym he should be simply exploding to the rim from as far as he can possibly jump. The next time he is in a game and has the ball anywhere around the rim this will be his very next move. All the rest simply doesn't matter. Become a beast dunking machine. That in my opinion is the only thing Meyers Leonard should work on. Then after he has done this for an entire month they can implement a practice dummy to jump over and around. Then when he masters the practice dummy. They can start with putting a real person in front of him. Start with a 6 ft tall guy and work up from there. That way he won't get blocked quite so much and lose confidence. We all know the minute Meyers sees any adversity he wants to find his happy place/safe zone. Maybe by end of summer he will be able to throw down a dunk or two over the likes of Ian Clark? He seems to have problems with the guys over 6'-2".
If he wants to do that all on his own, great, but I do not think the staff should put that much effort into him. This is something rookies and sophomores do. He is entering veteran status and still needs to work on the fundamentals under the hoop? Id rather have the team put that energy into a promising draftee, or Noah Vonleh. I think if the staff really focuses on Vonleh, he can become our PF of the future. He has proven he can hit the three and mid range shot. He has improved his rebounding, box outs and put backs tremendously in the second half of the season. He can cover 3-4 positions defensively and Is still only 21. I think him and Nurk could be our starting bigs moving forward and would compliment each other big time. I just don't think Leonard has a place on this team anymore unfortunately. I think we have realized what we need in big men and we don't have the time to let him redefine his game back to what it should have been to begin with.
Well.... That was actually my point. The problem is that the Blazers are probably stuck with him for at least another year. Maybe tradeable? Maybe not? Sneak him in on another trade? Maybe take a hit just to get rid of him? Point being if he is going to be in a Blazer uniform then this is something that needs to happen. And really isn't everything they do from now until training camp "Something he does on his own"?
If the Blazers refuse to hire a real big man coach, then Meyers needs to hire one (or two) himself. He makes $10 million a year. So, unless he wants to hear three more years of boos, he should spend a little of that windfall on improving himself. I'd recommend the following summer plan for Meyers: 1 month with Kim Hughes 1 month with Chris Kaman 1 month of 5-0n-5 pick up games with other NBA players Meyers has said he misses Kim Hughes, and the lack of a true big man coach has definitely been a set back for Meyers. The two were obviously close. Hughes was helping out at a camp Meyers sponsors when he made the comments about LaMarcus Aldridge that led to his firing. In hindsight, I think Hughes actually wanted to get fired. He was losing his best pupil, saw the team was going to be rebuilding, and has had multiple serious health issues. Go back and read what Hughes actually said. He mentioned multiple times than the Blazers were "going young". At his age, with his past health issues, I realy don't think he wanted to be part of a rebuilding project. At 64, with past health problems, he may not want a full time coaching job, but I bet, if adequately compensated, he'd be willing to spend a month with Meyers. I know the Blazers fired Hughes and Olshey was super pissed at the time, but I don't think there is anything they can do legally to prevent Meyers from hiring Hughes as a personal trainer for one month over the summer. Plus, it would be in their own best interest. With three years and $31 million left on his contract, any improvement Meyers makes is good for the team - either in his production or his trade value. Kaman was also a good influence on Meyers. Kaman has great foot work and post moves. Meyers needs to improve in these areas - at least enough that he can successfully post up and score against guards when they switch onto him in the pick and roll. The sad thing, is Meyers was actually showing progress in this area back when Hughes and Kaman were here. Remember that made up snow game against BRK back in April of 2015? Aldridge and Kaman did not make the trip. That meant big minutes for Meyers, and not just as a catch and shoot 3-point specialist. He made 7-10 2-point FGs in that game. Go back and watch the video of the 4th quarter of that game. Meyers was being guarded by Thad Young, realized he had a size advantage and repeatedly posted up Young on the low block, called for the ball and scored with ease over the shorter Young. He also had 15 rebounds in that game. It was probably his best game as a Blazer and led to other good games against UTA and OKC afterward, and he played with confidence in that series against MEM. Hard to believe that was just two years ago. Two months later the team fired Hughes and Meyers hasn't been the same since. Yeah, it's on Meyers to get better and earn his contract, but if that means spending a little money on guys that can hep him get better, he should be proactive and do it. Kaman has said he isn't interested in coaching full time, but we know he has a gym at his place in Michigan and that Meyers spent time there working out with Kaman before the 2014-15 season. I'm sure if Meyers tossed the Caveman a couple hundred thou, he'd be willing to work with him at his place in Michigan for a month. I don't know where Kim Hughes is living now, but like Meyers, he's from Illinois. So Meyers, get the old band back together, go home for the summer, work on your game with guys you know and trust. Get your head on straight and work on your game. It will be time and money well spent. Then spend a month applying what you learned in 5-on-5 situations. Stotts has said Meyers needs to play as much 5-on-5 as he can this summer. So, do it. Spend a month in Southern California playing pick up games against other NBA and Division I college players. Forget Cancun and Maui, spend this summer working on improving your game. Otherwise, look forward to three more years worth of boos from the hometown fans. BNM
Look at how quick Frye's release is. Leonard's isn't close. It's clunky and methodical. Frye is not an apt comparison-- Meyers at his current state has no real NBA comparison.
I don't remember his release being so slow prior to this season. Maybe it always was, but it definitely didn't bother me as much before.
A) It's always been glacially slow, and B) it didn't bother you before because he actually hit it at a decent rate . . . but when you don't have any defensive attention being paid to you, that kind of thing can happen. The sad truth is that Meyers may not have always been this terrible, but he was never "good."
He came pretty close to being "good" in his third season. .510 FG%, .420 3FG% and .938 FT%, PER = 14.8, TS% = .631. He also had a pretty decent 15.8 TRB% that year and played well in the playoff series against MEM (.667 FG%, .789 3FG%, 16.8 TRB%). And, he was just 22 at the time. Unfortunately, it's all been downhill from there. BNM
Yes, the potential is there, and as you have noted, having Chris Kaman coaching this summer may get him back on track. With development of the potential for excellence as he recovers fully from surgery and injuries, Meyers could contribute significantly in the coming year. Players do have ups and downs that bring comments. The downhill this year has been tough and demoralizing. Let's look for the uphill and peaks next season!
