There are several important points to note in this well supported analysis made by Dan. They support the thread, Start Myers Leonard, from last month. (Please excuse the misspelling.)
Both on offense and defense, the optimized value that Meyers can bring to the Blazers has not been explored and needs to be determined without delay.
Meyers can be an offensive force for the Blazers, especially if the his multiple talents for shooting are featured to make scoring threats more unpredictable.
As an offensive weapon, Meyers in 2014-2015 was a member of the exclusive 50/40/90 club. And in the Dec 1 win over the Mavs, his 23 points included 4 swish3s.
Dan's read on the 76ers game offensive weakness is an important point. Meyers is the only Blazer who seems capable of pulling the defense out. And it is true that nearly everytime that Meyers has shot after a backdown, he has scored! It is time to give Meyers more post up opportunities than 1 per game.
Recently, Meyers has made 49% of his swish3 attempts, when good ball movement has given him open shots.
On defense, Meyers was 3rd best in the NBA close in and 5th best in rim protection. This defense should be featured by the Blazers. Instead it has seemingly been discouraged.
Meyers has shot blocking and rebounding talents shown at Illinois that should be developed as a Blazer. He does 1 on 1 blocks. He needs to be assigned to do post up defense.
Perhaps the greatest asset on defense is when Meyers uses his 7'3” wingspan up high to cause opponents to alter their shot trajectory, resulting in noticeably low shots made. This may be one of the most important points in strengthening the Blazer defense.
Meyers needs to be assigned to be the rim protector, rebounder, and paint protector instead of the swish3 defender. Meyers' success against Gasol in the Grizzlies game is powerful evidence.
When in the paint, Meyers succeeds in getting about 50% of his attempted rebounds, and could be averaging at least 10 per game with better positioning. With Meyers and Ed both in the game, rebounding improves.
As Dan has noted “my own personal belief is that Leonard has both the capacity to grow and the capabilities on the court to be a very solid player in this league. ...For the sake of the Blazers, I feel it would behoove them to give him extended minutes and a larger role this year to see if he can indeed realize his potential- to establish his market value and ascertain whether or not he’s a part of their plans going forward.” Perhaps we can agree!
Now that Meyers's shooting percentage is climbing again, it is important to encourage progress and give him the chance as Dan has explained. It is important to give Meyers the chance for enhancing Blazer success with Dan's one-of-two-things outcome number 2. The reasons to start Meyers Leonard, provide more minutes, and encourage swish3 shooting are strong.
