I grew up a Christian and have read the bible many times. How do you think I learned to play guitar? I led the freaking worship team. I hit an age of reason and grew other opinions. No biggie. I've read the Koran as well. Everything you've said is totally legit. Ill give you that. However, I find it to be awesome and hilarious so it is staying up.
Had to Bump this. This is what Meyers has done. Game #1 3-5 shooting 9 pts 3 rebs in 12 mins with 2-2 from FT Game #2 Poor shooting night 1-6 for 3 points 4 reb 1-3 from three. 15 mins Game #3 10 rebs 3 points in 10 mins... That is 10 REBOUNDS with 2 asts. with +14 while on the court. Game #4 DNP Game #5 5-8 for 17 pts. Again 2-2 perfect at the line. 8 rebounds and 5-6 from 3pt. 24 mins If your goal is to bash Meyers then go right ahead. Meyers Leonard has been one of if not the biggest improvement on the roster. Very solid and consistent.
I would agree that Meyers appears to have had multiple good games this preseason, and remain on the Meyeres 2.0 bandwagon. The two things that people want to see more than anything else, however, are not reflected in the stats above: Defense--specifically several aspects of defense: Awareness Positioning Reaction Meyers appeared to demonstrate much of this in game 1 (the only game I've been able to watch), but from what I've heard, these haven't been on display as much in the other games Consistency We don't seem to know what we're going to get from him from one night to the next. Good play (game 1), liability on both ends (game 2), offensively challenged rebounder (game 3), outside threat (game 5). If he were the kind of player that were providing "whatever the team needs on any given night", then that wouldn't be an issue, but he hasn't quite shown himself to be instinctive enough to be that kind of player. I'm hoping as hard as anybody that he's able to translate his offseason work into a reliable game this season, but I wouldn't yet go so far as to say he's been consistent or the biggest improvement on the team.
Yeah we want to see all that from every player. So many people simply watch his game to look for mistakes. The guy went out and did everything everyone was asking for and now he is producing on the court but you still want to say things like "Awareness" "Reaction"... The guy just brought down 10 rebs in 10 mins and shot 5-6 from three in separate games. Any other player does that and people are singing praises all over the board. The crazy part of your response is the whole "We don't know what we are going to get from one night to the next". I just posted four games of stats for the guy. And he is doing it for 10 mil. NOT 17 Million a year
The next thing i wanted to point out was the shoving match between Len and Swanigan. You watched on that play Meyers drain a three. Then the ruckus started. Meyers was already heading the other way setting up for defense. Watch the video. The second guy on the team getting there to help out his team mate was Meyers. Right there pulling Len out of the mess. It's a little thing yes. But it shows that he does indeed have "Awareness" as to what is happening on the court.
Well, no, not really. Yes, people want him to work on his game, but "everyone"s problem with his game isn't limited to his offensive prowess. "Everyone" has criticized him continuously for his defense: looking lost, missing assignments, not defending the paint, fouling unnecessarily, and generally playing significantly smaller than his size. As for offense, generally "everyone" has been most concerned with this speed of his release (not really improved) and his unwillingness to play down low (also not really improved). Regarding this preseason, even within his good games he has produced inconsistently on the court. Game 1 he was solid in the first half, but was pretty embarrassing in the 2nd. Game 5 he did almost all his scoring in the first half, and was again, not very good in the second. I'm sorry you don't like my detailed explanations of what I have seen and what I would like to see from him, but it's not as though we're moving the goalposts on him. What "everyone" wants to see are the same things that "everyone" has been asking for for 5 years. When I talk about "awareness", I'm talking about during a play, when the opponents are moving their players and/or the ball around the court, and he needs to be able to respond effectively. Completely different than his response to a scuffle (which, I agree, was good in that situation).
Actually i do like your detailed explanations. Way better than just saying "He Sucks". At least you are looking. I just look a bit different. If he did all that he would be an All-Star. He would be a dream come true for Olshey who took a chance and we all knew that. Meyers is never going to be an All-Star Center the likes of Hakeem. But he is becoming a very serviceable second unit guy that has so far this year been shooting well and pulling down boards.
That was also my point. He made a shot. A really good looking three. Instead of showboating and making a big deal about it he was heading back on defense. He was already on the other side of the court. This is not a guy who is not aware of where he is supposed to be. This is a guy that is playing defense.
I guess I don’t equate “getting back on defense” as either good defense or awareness on defense. My 5 year old gets back on defense consistently. He’s also completely lost 95% of the time.
Someone criticized Meyers for his response to the scuffle when it first happened. But when I watched the vid what I saw was Meyers run from the other end of the court and get in the middle of the scrum and put his arms around Len. Other than throwing a punch, I don't know what else people wanted him to do. Meyers bashing is a habit that's hard to break I guess.
Improvement or not, I'm done with him. I hate his "game". My hope is he boosts his trade value to get off my favorite team.
