So... there was that short burst there where we were getting all excited that Leonard could actually contribute. But now Freeland's back, and Meyers is glued to the bench. And, coincidentally, we're winning again. Defense beats threes?
I don't mean to be rude or antagonisyic, but my honest opinion is that Meyers Leonard is the worsr player on our roster. He's not worthless defensively, he's absolutely terrible. I wouldn't let him play if he had an Aldridge/Lillard offensive talent. He's soft, he's not smart, T-Rob and Barton who supposedly had "low basketball IQ" are geniuses compared to him and they're so much better as basketball players it made me simply question who I was talking to on these forums. So he can make 3s. He's 7-feet and can make 3s. What he can't do is play inside. He's virtualy a big SF who can't play SF, can't guard SFs, can't guard anyone else and is nothing more than a stupid Gimmick. He's soft inside and out, he looks lost almost every time he's on the court AND he can make an occasional 3. I'm sorry to be blunt about it but some of the most self-proclaimed "experts" on this board were or even still are on the Leonard bandwagon while 2 players who are legit NBA players and one who's now in Moscow but is still 10 times better, smarter and stronger, were traded partly because of this bullshit. I'm not saying I don't like Afflalo because I do. it may have even been worth it cause T-Rob and Barton and Claver weren't getting of Stotts' bench anyway, but give me a break here, at least calm down on this stupid joke. This guy could supposedly still be a player someday, he could mature or grow balls or a brain, I don't know, people change and his biggest bright spot is being young. But right now I wouldn't give him 1 minute in a playoff game unless it's a complete blow-out. He needs to get back to waiving towels and cheerleading. I don't hate the guy and I wish him well but the objective here is to win basketball games and right now he is not a basketball player.
I think Wright is taking as many minutes away from Leonard than Joel is. Wright is playing back up SF and PF. He has played OK and it seems like Terry is giving him every opportunity. Not a bad idea since his veteran experience could be more beneficial in the playoffs. But on the other hand I liked having Meyers out there as he is a big target to pass to when things break down. He's always quick to catch and pass back to the guard to reset the play. He always seems to be open, he is just as good of a spot up outside shooter and he is a decent rebounder. To Wright's credit..... he is more active on D and more versatile if Terry is looking to shorten his bench during the stretch drive.
It's hard for me to defend Leonard (maybe I'm not good at defending the 3!), but ML has shown to be a good rebounder. Let's see if he can build on rebounding, 3s, and dunking. I'm now on the bandwagon, I think he can. When the coach will trust him is another matter altogether - I have no idea.
Maybe if Coach Stotts would stop pulling him in and out of the rotation, he'd be more consistent? If I'm a bench player, playing for Stotts has got to be maddening. Pick a fucking rotation and stick with it!
Freeland doesn't get a lot of hype because he doesn't do the things that people like to watch.(hit 3's, block shots into the crowd, get highlight dunks, etc) But what he does do better than anyone coming off the bench is do the little things. Freeland is a serviceable big who should always be in the rotation over players like Nards. However as was mentioned previously.. Freeland isn't stealing Nard's PT. I mean... they don't even play the same position... D-Wright is. D-Wright deserves the PT atm. Nards I'm sure will get out there if the Blazers need more size in the middle, because he's turned into a player this year. Has a ton room for improvement, but he can play.
I think the way Stotts has brought Leonard along is about a poor as a coach can do. Very disappointed with the coach. I suppose Leonard could be an uncoachable mental midget but you would think the word would be out.
This may actualy be true! You have a 7 foot athletic kid who has potential. You don't make him a 3 point shooter. You make him tougher. YOu teach him to defend inside, to understand help defense better. Right now it seems Leonard has been going in the wrong direction since he got here.
Blazers have a very good big man coach. Also look at it this way, when it comes time to give Meyers a new contract the Blazers will be able to afford him and keep him. If he had developed like so many of you think he should have the Blazers would not have enough cap room to keep him on the roster. I anticipate that Blazers will be signed at a reasonable contract that will go on to be viewed as a bargain in years to come.
This maybe true and things can still change. but these CBA, economical considerations are not what's important, not when we have Paul Allen as owner, not when we lost T-Rob because of this kind of bullshit. Make the best of what you have, then you can get worried about paying your own players that's a good place to be in.
Mike Dantoni has proven he WON'T adjust his system to fit his players. Stotts has shown that he will put players in a situation that allows them to do what they do best. By definition it means Stotts hasn't done a poor job with Nards.. Or any of the coaching staff. What would equal a bad coach is forcing a kid to do something he's not comfortable doing. Doc Rivers says to DJ. "I want you to shoot ten three's a game and play no defense whatsoever." That would be a bad coach, because he's not putting DJ in a position to succeed... You two and others might wants Nards to be that big tough big, who blocks shots, plays defense at an elite level and develops a low post game. But that's not who he is right now... And it might not ever come to his game. There have been plenty of successful bigs who are permiter oriented and play in the NBA for a long time. See Spencer Hawes to name one. How many people wanted him before the season? Quite a few. What kind of contract did he get from the Clippers? Not a small vet minimum that's for sure. Basically.. There are plenty of things to criticize Stotts for. How he uses Nards... Is not one of them.. (well outside of consistent minutes) But instead of tldr I'll refer you to my previous post on that.
I would rather we extended T-Rob's contract instead of making thisstupid "financial" decision and made it impossible for him to stay with the Blazers and turned him into a 1 year player for us thus making even giving him decent playing time much less worthwhile. It's this kind of financial decisions that may seem to fit some logic but are pure BS.
And by extending him Denver might not have wanted him, making the AA trade not happen. I'm not an expert on the salary cap but would Denver have been able to buy him out for as cheaply as they did if Portland would have extended his contract? I'm not sure what you're complaining about since we traded the guy.
Well sure. In Blazer4ever's world, that trade never happened, Barton got the starting nod after Matthews went down, T-Rob filled in ably during Aldridge's brief absence, and we're undefeated in March.
I disagree. The only reason we are talking about him in somewhat positive terms is because they finally used him correctly and let him play to his strengths. Right now he is a 7'1" stretch 4. You can still make him tougher and defend inside, but on offense his strength is he has a very good outside shot. You can play him with Joel, Robin or Chris. To say he is going the wrong direction is inaccurate IMO. He has skills that most 7 footers do not possess. Don't waste those skills by trying to make him into something he is not. That rarely works out.
