Meyers Leonard appreciation

[H.C.]

I'm one of the biggest Nards haters on this forum.
Have been for a long time.

Credit where it's due tho. He's turned himself into a NBA role player. Year and a half now I've thought this.
He makes mistakes, has weaknesses but that's why he's not a starter.

Meyers Leonard.

 

[tester551]

I'm one of the biggest Nards haters on this forum.
Have been for a long time.

Credit where it's due tho. He's turned himself into a NBA role player.
He makes mistakes, has weaknesses but that's why he's not a starter.

Meyers Leonard.

He's had a good impact on tonights game. I like when he plays like the goon squad.

 

[OSUBlazerfan]

Had an argument with one of my friends before the game. Made the point he was wayyyy better than ET (and i dislike Meyers in general)

 

[VanillaGorilla]

I'm one of the biggest Nards haters on this forum.
Have been for a long time.

Credit where it's due tho. He's turned himself into a NBA role player. Year and a half now I've thought this.
He makes mistakes, has weaknesses but that's why he's not a starter.

Meyers Leonard.

I'll give this post a gigantic +1.

I could probably count the times I've said positive things about Meyers on one hand. I haven't been watching much Blazer basketball the last two years and I have to say he's like a completely different player than I remember. I didn't have faith that he'd learn how to contribute in this way, but I'm glad he's proved me wrong.

 

[joeBlazers]

He knows his role and he plays it well ... at times. Just like Dame isn't always great. Ain't nothing better than a player responding whenever needed. Glad we have him on our team.

 

[Chris Craig]

Damn that shove by Adams and no call

 

[H.C.]

OH and for all of you wondering.

This was a fucking clean block.

 

[BlayZa]

yup he's a role player

not a 10-12M dollar role player tho.

at 5-6 he has a case.

 

[borim69]

maybe the game will slow down for him a bit in the playoffs. we could really use the help. and yes that was a clean fucking block nice play.

 

[mook]

He's the latest of late bloomers. But he's really come on strong.

It's easy to forget he got that contract based on a very good showing against Marc Gasol in the playoffs. You put him in a game against a strong, immobile center and he's actually pretty good. So Adams is a perfect fit. You give him lots of time to understand what his role will be for the game like we can in the playoffs, and it also helps.

Adams is an absolute perfect matchup for him. He can go pound-for-pound with him on defense, and he can pull Adams away from the rim on offense.

The real eye opener for me was the 2 or 3 times he got matched up on the perimeter and really did a great job of preventing the guard from taking a 3. Really moved his feet well. Nurkic must be teaching him how to move his feet or something.

It's taken a lot of time and money to get him to this point, but now that he's there I'm really happy for him.

 

[H.C.]

He's the latest of late bloomers. But he's really come on strong.

It's easy to forget he got that contract based on a very good showing against Marc Gasol in the playoffs. You put him in a game against a strong, immobile center and he's actually pretty good. So Adams is a perfect fit. You give him lots of time to understand what his role will be for the game like we can in the playoffs, and it also helps.

Adams is an absolute perfect matchup for him. He can go pound-for-pound with him on defense, and he can pull Adams away from the rim on offense.

The real eye opener for me was the 2 or 3 times he got matched up on the perimeter and really did a great job of preventing the guard from taking a 3. Really moved his feet well. Nurkic must be teaching him how to move his feet or something.

It's taken a lot of time and money to get him to this point, but now that he's there I'm really happy for him.

I loved watching him sit down in a chair and slide his feet.
He's done it a couple times this year and every time I love it.
One of the things our coaching staff is excellent at is player development.

With that said I don't want to see it very often. And he still makes silly fouls.
But the guy is a legit role player and deserves respect.
When Stotts puts him in a position to succeed. More often than not Portland is rewarded.
It's when Stotts throws him cold to go check a rolling Paul Millsap is when I lose my mind.

 

[kjironman1]

The real eye opener for me was the 2 or 3 times he got matched up on the perimeter and really did a great job of preventing the guard from taking a 3. Really moved his feet well.

He stayed in front of Westbrook and when Russ finally got into the baseline Mo came on and did a little help defense. Believe me the crowd went wild on that play.

 

[blue9]

Had an argument with one of my friends before the game. Made the point he was wayyyy better than ET (and i dislike Meyers in general)

And that's a huge understatement!

 

[blue9]

The real eye opener for me was the 2 or 3 times he got matched up on the perimeter and really did a great job of preventing the guard from taking a 3. Really moved his feet well. Nurkic must be teaching him how to move his feet or something.

Yeah, that was impressive. His perimeter D was terrific last night.

 

[twobullz]

I think a under apprecidated part of his game is his screens. In game 1 Kanter's screens were not getting Dame opened. Meyers was laying the wood on screens and the guys guarding Dame were actually getting picked off.

 

[blue9]

 

[Wade Garrett]

Meyers will be a TrailBlazer forever.
He's our Hank Finkel.
Someday he will be an ambassador for the team he loves.
Good for him.

 

[B-Roy]

The coolest play from Meyers last night was during the first half. George pushed Harkless to the floor and had an open 3 and Meyers sprinted from the paint to take away the shot. George then tried penetrating on Meyers who moved his feet well and forced him into Aminu's defense and the Thunder couldn't score.

Meyers Leonard taking away a PG 3 and drive. Who would have thought?

 

[PtldPlatypus]

The coolest play from Meyers last night was during the first half. George pushed Harkless to the floor and had an open 3 and Meyers sprinted from the paint to take away the shot. George then tried penetrating on Meyers who moved his feet well and forced him into Aminu's defense and the Thunder couldn't score.

Meyers Leonard taking away a PG 3 and drive. Who would have thought?

I was as impressed by his defense on Schröder out on the wing, not getting crossed up, not giving him space, and forcing him baseline--again into Aminu's help D.

Meyers was fantastic on the perimeter last night. Mind-blowing.

 

[glazeduck]

Purely in a vacuum, Meyers' performance last night, and frankly, over the past year, has been awesome and he deserves every bit of accolades for "figuring it out".

That said, I'm even more proud and impressed of him for the mental side of things... This kid has been the fanbase's whipping boy since the day he was drafted (signing a bloated contract certainly didn't help things), but through it all, he's found a way to stay mentally focused, while continuing to develop his game. Which says a ton about who he is as a person, and the type of culture we have in our locker room. It would've been so easy for Meyers to check out, cash his checks, and just go through the motions, but you can tell he loves playing with his teammates and loves what he does.

Super, super happy for him, and I hope -- after his contract expires next year -- that we can find a way to keep him at a more reasonable number (after using our cap space to improve the roster, that is)...

 

[blue9]

Purely in a vacuum, Meyers' performance last night, and frankly, over the past year, has been awesome and he deserves every bit of accolades for "figuring it out".

That said, I'm even more proud and impressed of him for the mental side of things... This kid has been the fanbase's whipping boy since the day he was drafted (signing a bloated contract certainly didn't help things), but through it all, he's found a way to stay mentally focused, while continuing to develop his game. Which says a ton about who he is as a person, and the type of culture we have in our locker room. It would've been so easy for Meyers to check out, cash his checks, and just go through the motions, but you can tell he loves playing with his teammates and loves what he does.

Super, super happy for him, and I hope -- after his contract expires next year -- that we can find a way to keep him at a more reasonable number (after using our cap space to improve the roster, that is)...

For sure! I've always really liked Meyers as a teammate. Through it all he's been amazingly supportive of everyone who has ever "taken his minutes". I wouldn't be upset if he were a Blazer-lifer (just so long as his next contract is more reasonable).
Also, how many years did it take Joel P to become a legit NBA player? I suspect Meyers is pretty close to Joel's timeline, and Joel was a fan favorite.

 

[glazeduck]

For sure! I've always really liked Meyers as a teammate. Through it all he's been amazingly supportive of everyone who has ever "taken his minutes". I wouldn't be upset if he were a Blazer-lifer (just so long as his next contract is more reasonable).
Also, how many years did it take Joel P to become a legit NBA player? I suspect Meyers is pretty close to Joel's timeline, and Joel was a fan favorite.

Joel's an interesting comp. The crazy thing is Meyers just turned 27, and aside from the shoulder, doesn't really have a lot of wear on his body... He could certainly play a decent role off the bench for another 5-8 years.

I also think Meyers has the chops to be a coach in this league. When I watch him play, I see a guy who sees the bigger picture of the game, but processes just a tad too slow to dominate it. Other Blazers have said he's among the smartest players they've ever come across... Would be cool for him to have a long fan-favorite role player career then become a successful coach in this league.

 

[PtldPlatypus]

Joel's an interesting comp. The crazy thing is Meyers just turned 27, and aside from the shoulder, doesn't really have a lot of wear on his body... He could certainly play a decent role off the bench for another 5-8 years.

I also think Meyers has the chops to be a coach in this league. When I watch him play, I see a guy who sees the bigger picture of the game, but processes just a tad too slow to dominate it. Other Blazers have said he's among the smartest players they've ever come across... Would be cool for him to have a long fan-favorite role player career then become a successful coach in this league.

Perhaps when he retires, Meyers can become the big-man coach @Boob-No-More has been calling for since Kim Hughes was fired.

 

[Wizard Mentor]

He played well more often than not during the regular season. Nice to see that continue in the playoffs.

However, as demonstrated over and over again, he still has the mentality of a junior higher... which is kind of annoying.

View attachment 25640

 

[glazeduck]

He played well more often than not during the regular season. Nice to see that continue in the playoffs.

However, as demonstrated over and over again, he still has the mentality of a junior higher... which is kind of annoying.

It's possible I'm misinterpreting your post, but I'm not sure I see how him celebrating in that pic is having the mentality of a junior higher?

 

[Wizard Mentor]

It's possible I'm misinterpreting your post, but I'm not sure I see how him celebrating in that pic is having the mentality of a junior higher?

He flexes after made shots or blocks. He wears "cool" sunglasses inside. He's in love with his body. There are literally dozens of examples, at least 4 of which
were on display in game 2.

 

[blue9]

He flexes after made shots or blocks. He wears "cool" sunglasses inside. He's in love with his body. There are literally dozens of examples, at least 4 of which
were on display in game 2.

Yeah, very true. On the flip side though, it's kinda cool that he doesn't care how dorky or uncool he is for doing those things. If only we could all be as un-self-conscious as Meyers.

 

[PtldPlatypus]

However, as demonstrated over and over again, he still has the mentality of a junior higher... which is kind of endearing.

FTFY

 

[DaLong]

Yeah, very true. On the flip side though, it's kinda cool that he doesn't care how dorky or uncool he is for doing those things. If only we could all be as un-self-conscious as Meyers.

He's going to knock someone out with those flying un-self-conscious elbows one day. I really don't understand the purpose of flailing around every rebound, even when no one is contesting it.

 

[Wizard Mentor]

FTFY

At $3 mil a year, it's endearing. At $10.6 mil/year, it's annoying.