Who should be our starting frontcourt?

I'm intrigued by Vonleh on D in the future. He has so much to learn, but he is surprisingly laterally quick, has those tree-trunk legs, and long reach with big hands. And, for now, he seems to care more. Vonleh will likely never be that "get that shot out of here" guy like Davis, but I can totally see players passing back out of the post when they can't move his base and can't see around his arms and hands.

 

Yeah I have a lot of concern of Meyers at PF long term. Especially with the way the league is moving toward small ball I just don't know if he has the defensive foot speed. But does he have the defensive ability to anchor a defense as a center? I don't know. He might just be a Matt Bonner role player. That has value but not what you want as a starter. Ed Davis is the most sure thing in my mind of our potential center candidates. He doesn't have the upside of the others though.

So glad we got Ed Davis. How did we steal the Lakers best player? Nobody has taken their cap space for years and they can't even keep role players.

 

What I saw from Meyers in the POs last season was enough to prove to me that he's a more-than-capable defensive C - he didn't just accidentally play great defense on Gasol. But he and the team need to commit to him playing that position. He'll make mistakes throughout the year, but if he plays C consistently during the course of the season I expect him to be better than Rolo was by the end of the year.

 

I mean..... freakin Paul George is playing power forward right now. The league has lost its mind.

 

Out of 42 votes 0% of us had the correct answer.

 

Crazy! But at one point people did. Leonard/Plumlee started the first 9? games.

 

Meyers and Plumlee started the season.

 

Hey I got it completely wrong!

 

Should/would/could/will and does Not the same thing.

 

A- Ed Davis; excellent defense, high efficiency, one of leagues best backup bigs

B+ Plumlee; Still defensive shortcomings but much improved, great passing, more accurate shooting. Concerns about him as a long term starter but clearly belongs in a NBA rotation

C+ Vonleh defense has been great, quick feet gets in good position. Needs to improve offensively to contribute to a winner.

D Meyers Leonard. Dodged a bullet not extending him. Unlikely to ever be a rotational NBA player. Too slow to defend 90% of opponents. Inability to get up shots makes him average offensively despite skills.

 

I thought the fans always have the answers.

 

Heck no! Just one certain fan, man.

 

The Leonard hate in here is fucking retarded.

 

Not sure why but I have a lot of fun ripping on the guy. It's interesting because he brings intrigue with his offensive skills to many fans but disgust for his bonehead plays from so many others. His defensive shortcomings and botched shot attempts are ridiculously bad to the point its comical. It can be very frustrating to watch as a fan. But he has enough positives plays to give that glimmer of potential hope. Andrea Bargnani is a good comparison in that both tease you with Dirk skills but have horrible limitations in other areas of their game.

He sounds like a good guy and I wish him the best as a person.

But in what I want my team to do? I'd only resign him as a third string center in a Matt Bonner role. I don't view him ever being an every game beneficial rotational piece on a winning team.

 

Ok, the guys defending Meyers seriously need to explain to me what his upside is.
He's useless on the defensive end so let's rule that out.
He's also useless on offense inside the paint (perfect for a center !)
He's a horrible rebounder. Can't box out, gives up tons of offensive rebounds.
His BBall IQ is so low it's ridiculous. He has no feel for the game. He's lost, it feels like he's still a rookie to me.
Sometimes he makes his 3s so it kind of breaks even. But even with this beeing literally the only thing he can contribute on the court, he still passes shot that everybody from the coaching staff, to the players to even the fans in the building are screaming at him to take.
And when the 3 doesn't fall, his play is so bad it's as we're playing 4v6.

 

Why? The guy is Steve Novak without confidence in his shot and wants to get paid like he's Ryan Anderson. Plus all that nonsense at the beginning of the year how he wants to be a leader with dame and cj. He has been god awful for 80-90% of the season (he got benched for Vonleh...VONLEH!). So whats really "fucking retarded" is watching him play and thinking he is somehow the long term answer at either front-court position.

 

Meyers defenders will point to his percentages (on very few attempts) and man defense in 10 games while ignoring the other 211 mediocre to horrible defensive games.

I like the Novak without the confidence comparison. He's got to be the softest 7'1" player I can remember. Lowry got switched onto him in the post when Meyers had the ball deep in the key and he immediately passed out to the 3 point line. Never seen a 7'1" player with good offensive touch so fearful of putting the ball in the hoop. Maybe he's just the softest basketball player, period.

Then he commits dumb fouls to pretend he's tough.

In a way I'm almost starting to love hating on Meyers. It's entertaining how bad he can play and how some fans see one thing and others see something totally different. Do I want the Blazers to keep Meyers just to hate on him?

 

THIS....

 

I'm at the point where every time he throws up a shot, I hope it misses so he looses playing time.