He just sticks. It is really hard for me to see how, even in 3 years, he will be anything but a poor man's Joel Pryzbilla. And that's not sayin' much.
He simply does not know how to play defense. So you teach him. How many coaches do they have? They need to earn their money this summer.
Cause he's 6'9", doesn't want to play center (cause he isn't one) or back up LMA. Is that enough of a reason?
Leonard has everything you want in a big man project. Size, athleticism, strength, shooting touch. He just needs seasoning. I think he's worth giving minutes to for 3-4 years.
tonight was one of those times i understand why MM is always dissing him. Again tonight, he gets a rebound right under the basket; he is a 7 foot athletic guy; rather than go up and dunk the ball, he chooses to dribble out and gives up a turnover. Within a minute he puts up a layup so soft against Pau that I scream "Leonard, be a f___ing man!" I have said before that maybe if he gets hit in the chops enough he could become a man but later in the game seeing him close his eyes on another layup attempt against Kobe; I just don't know. by the way , don't understand the reference to Pryzbilla; he is the anti-Pryzbilla.
How is he not a project? He only just turned 21, and he didn't even start playing in the post really until his junior year of high school, because of a crazy, unexpected growth spurt. Not to mention that he has freakish god given height, length, and athleticism. For someone with that kind of physical ability, that has only played his position for five years or so, I'd say you have a "project." It's one thing for guys who grew up being the "big guy," but it takes guys with crazy growth spurts like that some time.
Exactly. He is still raw. Is he good at defense? no. But, he is young. He has some remarkable skills as a 7 footer. Give him time and he will be a legit starter for our team in 2 years. You can quote me on this, by the way. I will straight up say that he will be an allstar in 4 years. Make fun of me or think what you will. Just get back to me in the future. Get in you Dolorean right now!
I'm not a huge fan of Leonard going forward. He plays the game like a European style big man and that just does nothing for me. I don't care if he can make a 15ft jumper or how athletic he is if he can't defend or rebound. In other news, one of my guys in the 2012 draft killed it last night. John Henson put up 17pts, 25rebs and 7 blks. When he's gotten minutes this season he has put up numbers.
I think mayhap a questioning glance should be fired towards the big man coaches? The positioning on defense, particularly rebounding positioning, has been woeful (even keeping in mind they a lot of them are rookies)
Unless we can use him in a trade to upgrade the center spot, I'd like to see the Blazers focus on making him a back up stretch 4. He wouldn't get abused nearly as much as he does now
Meyers was a 6'5" SG in high school. That is the reason he is a piss poor interior defender. it has nothing to do with his desire, coaching, or seasoning. It isn't going to happen
Leonard will never be the "poor man's Joel Przybilla" because, as someone correctly noted, he is the anti-Przybilla. Joel's specialities were bruising picks, tenacious rebounding and shotblocking, none of which is a strength of Leonard's. Leonard is (currently) much more like Byron Mullens - a "finesse" big man with a good shooting touch. Think of him as a giant small forward. Perhaps a better comparison would be Teletovic, the Euroleague star who is sitting on the bench for the Nets. Right now it's clear he's not the player we need at C. The question is, can he learn how to play D? Sadly, I doubt it. D seems to be something like court vision (to which it is related, certainly team D) in that you either have it or you don't. There are some superstars who have learned it - Jordan, Bryant and Lebron, for example, none of whom were noted defenders early in their careers, but they're exceptional. There are also some players who've realized that the only way they're going to stick is by become defensive specialists, like Bruce Bowen and Tony Allen, but again, kind of exceptional. More usually, if you suck at D, you stay sucky. Look at JJ Hickson, who's basically lost 3 jobs despite being a PER hero, and ALL his coaches have preached to him is defense. He just doesn't have the head for it. I think you have to have a special kind of personality and it really seems to me that Leonard's is too mild. I actually saw him cower in fear away from a dunk attempt last night. I would happily include him as a throw-in for a less talented player like Omer Asik or Larry Sanders, who is all-D, little O.
Well, I guess we should just give up on Meyers, because if he's not already fully developed after 1 season, he'll never be.
