Meyers Leonard, potential superstar

[fumanchu]

Now I didn't watch the Minnesota game, so he may have sucked. But going off the Indiana game, there's something I saw in Leonard that could in theory equate to greatness. I'll concede that it's extremely unlikely tho.

He's only 23 so he's still 3 years from being in his prime.
He has a good head on his shoulders.
He sees the floor well. You can run the offense through him.
He's a good passer, makes the right decisions most the time.
He has a great bullet pass.
He's a good shooter and a decent foul shooter. Good hands.
Agile defender, gets his hands in passing lanes.
Not a great rebounder, but good enough. I think he makes up for lack of rebounds with his quick hands.
He can shoot from anywhere around the perimeter, and he's showing improvement in the post.

The last point is the big one. If he can develop his low post game he would be a beast. I would like to see him gain about 10 pounds of muscle and practice playing physical. He's tough enough and agile enough to play a physical game. Add that to his current game and he's Aldridge 2.0, maybe better.

This post is all with my rose colored glasses on, but it's fun to think about.

I would gladly eat my words about him. A few years ago I thought he was worthless.

 

[KingSpeed]

He's one of my favorite players in the league. When we drafted him, I said give him 5 years and he'll be one of the best players in the league. He's already a better pick and pop option than Aldridge.

 

[Strenuus]

Ay carumba.

 

[VanillaGorilla]

You lost me at "agile defender" . He's slow and clumsy on defense and is terrible at rebounding, especially considering his size. He has pretty much no potential to be a superstar in my opinion. Mehmet Okur is his absolute best case scenario.

 

[Fez Hammersticks]

 

[Fez Hammersticks]

On a serious note...

He is way too passive and doesn't have any kind of killer instinct.

Ceiling? Think Mehmet Okur.

 

[VanillaGorilla]

Ceiling? Think Mehmet Okur.

Hey I just said that.

 

[Fez Hammersticks]

Ha! I didn't even notice.

I think Okur is an obvious comp.

 

[HomerLovesKoolAid]

Especially if he learns to play basketball!

 

[rasheedfan2005]

 

[Tunchi]

On a serious note...

He is way too passive and doesn't have any kind of killer instinct.

Ceiling? Think Mehmet Okur.

That's how Vonleh is

 

[rasheedfan2005]

 

[Fez Hammersticks]

PER36: 13.7 PPG

He's out there to score. It's really the only thing he has potential to be - a scorer. His numbers are very mediocre.

Unless he flips a switch I don't see anything more than a fringe starter. He teases the fanbase with his (rare) 20/10 games but he still can't put the ball on the floor and is still very robotic on the block.

This is his fourth year and he's dangerously close to being Bargnani without the dribble.

 

[UncleCliffy'sDaddy]

Especially if he learns to play basketball!

Low blow Homer. Anything with Krysten Ritter gets a "like" every damn time. Just call me a dirty old man....I'll wear the tag proudly.....

 

[BigGameDamian]

He didn't see the game he saw Meyers stats.

 

[BigGameDamian]

 

[Sinobas]

I think the first thing Leonard needs to do is shoot more. Portland does much better when Lillard and CJ aren't forcing up ridiculous shots. One of his biggest flaws is that he passes up shots, and it usually leads to the another guy taking a much worse shot. I know Stotts is frustrated with that as well.

Even though he started the year ice-cold, and was out a lot with injury, his 2pt percentage is up to 61%. And that's not a DeAndre "I only shoot point blank" Jordan percentage. And it looks like his 3pt shot is back now. He also seems to developing more of an offensive game around the basket. He's got that odd hook floater whatever it is.

Defensively, he seems sort of average. But when you look at his defensive stats, they actually look amazing.

His big problem this year has been rebounding, for some reason, it's fallen off a cliff. His rebound rate is one of the worst in the league among big men. But historically it's been much better.

 

[Trackjack]

Myers very good shooter but superstar no. But he is piece of the puzzle for this team to reach the playoffs in the future or good trade piece.

 

[Nikolokolus]

If Meyers is on track to be a "Superstar" then the word has ceased to hold any meaning whatsoever.

 

[riverman]

I don't think Meyers will be a superstar, but I think he'll be a hell of a lot better player than Okur....I'd say he could become a well rounded player by the time he's Lillard's age. He's made a lot of improvements defensively...I don't get the hate for his progress that so many seem to spout, but Curry is a superstar and Meyers is not.

 

[riverman]

Dirk is a superstar but at Meyers age, Dirk was a horrible defender...still isn't a great rebounder. I think Meyers could become a Chris Bosh type player with his shooting range.

 

[Wizard Mentor]

PER isn't the be all and end all, but right now it's at 12.2 - below average NBA player. Can he become a 20.0 PER guy, or even higher? I hope so, but he doesn't really have the responsibility to do that right now, so it's hard to say.

I'll be more excited when he actually reaches the 17 or so.

 

[handiman]

He's a match-up nightmare ... at both ends of the court.

Shit, I think I just defined our entire team.

 

[B-Roy]

Such a weird player, but that's why he's so tantalizing.

 

[BigGameDamian]

Kingspeed must have paid you to post this.

 

[Sinobas]

I think it's time to put Meyers back into the starting lineup. I've been down on him earlier this year, but I think the Blazers are clearly better with him on the court.

 

[BlayZa]

well that's definitely the 'glass half full' side of things, OP

We gain a few of things when Myers is on the floor like spacing for the guards to work, big man outside shooting, a bit more length in the court..... but considering his position, we lose soooooo much more imo. He needs to be scoring HEAVY to justify his game-style as he has zero interior game, very poor rebounding, very little enforcer style, no intimidation factor and unless he's hanging at the three, very little scoring threat.

if he's on the way to being a superstar, then 99.5% of the league is on the same mediocre journey.

 

[BlayZa]

also, his numbers from that game yesterday back up just about everything i said.

24mins
14 PTS
6-10 FGM-A
2-6 3PM-A
0 RBS
0 BLK
2 AST
5 PF
2 TO

Im still on the #StartEdDavis bandwagon - Him and Plum lock things DOWN, we got more than enough scoring in 1-3 and the amount of 2nd chance options this duo gets means we get a decent amount of inside scoring as well. They put in work.

Davis yesterday

27mins
13 PTS
5-6 FGM-A
0-0 3PM-A
8 RBS
2 BLK
1 AST
2 PF
0 TO

keep Myers on the bench, start Davis.

 

[BBert]

Meyers makes things easier for Dame and CJ. That's why he plays.

 

[Denny Crane]