Moving Meyers to starting center

[mook]

Thinking more about the wide-open offense the Blazers are probably going to play this year, I really think they need to take a long, hard look at Meyers at starting center once he's healthy. Several reasons:

1. He takes a lot of threes. This is going to drag a lot of defensive centers out of the paint. Pretty obvious, so I won't beat this to death.
2. Even when he doesn't take the three, he's standing there on the perimeter, which generally makes it much, much easier for him to transition into protecting the rim in transition than it does for a guy like Plumlee. Given how porous our perimeter defense is, that's kind of a big deal.
3. The year before last as a center he had a DRTG of 102. That was his best of his 4 seasons. It also would've easily been the best on the team if it happened last year. It was also the season where he stifled M Gasol in the playoffs. Meyers is a natural center. One who jacks threes, but still a center. He's tall, he's strong, and he's not mobile enough to defend stretch fours permanently in the modern NBA.
4. Plumlee is in a contract year. Meyers is sealed up long-term. If you have to pick one of those two guys to cement themselves as the permanent center this year, which would you rather go with? The short-armed, 6-10ish, 2 year older, poor free throw shooting Plumlee, or the 7-1, younger and three point shooting muscle-head of Meyers?
5. Bottom line: In the best case scenario of their careers, which of Plumlee or Leonard do you see being the starting center of a WCF team? Plumlee is a nice guy, a good passer, and a willing athlete. But in the end his arms are too short to defend the rim and his shooting is to poor to rely on in crunch minutes. A healthy Leonard upends the general defensive strategies of other teams.
I wrote a similar post like this last year around this time. (See below). It was also a lot Leonard Kool-Aid, so I guess you can call me a sucker for it. But I think there's still a lot of truth in what I said--although I've come around now to the realization that he's a center and not a power forward in the modern NBA.

If you look at Pace over the past decade, it's gone up by 3 shots per game to 93.9 (or 3.3% increase). If you look at 3PA, it's gone up by 7 per game to 22.4 (a 43% increase). So pace has increased a little, three point shooting a lot. These two stats (plus my own eyeballs) seem to suggest that more teams are going small to shoot more perimeter shots, not necessarily to get faster. Coaches trade off some rebounding, interior defense and interior scoring so they can get in on that sweet, sweet threeball action (and defend it better on the other end).

But what if your 7'1 center hits threes like a really good guard?

I'm a big fan of lefties in any sport, because they have a weird unnatural advantage. They see right handers every night, so it's no big adjustment for them to go up against another right hander. But a right hander facing a southpaw is uncomfortable. How do you practice against it? You're used to going one way, and the lefty goes the opposite. You have to forget so much of what you know to deal with just this one guy.

For all practical purposes, Meyers is a really extreme southpaw in the modern NBA. He's not a complete anomaly in NBA history, of course. There are a small handful of guys his size in NBA history with his range. But how many of those guys were going up against 6'7 power forwards like we're seeing more and more in the league?

Leonard may not ever be the best player on our team. It's always going to be Lillard's team. Vonleh may have the most true superstar potential. But there are half dozen point guards in the league who have a similar game to Lillard. If Vonleh reaches his potential, he'll be in the mold of several power forwards.

But Leonard is going to be that one guy every night the other team really has to think about. There's no real template for guarding him, no practice dummy who does quite what he does. You can't just "go small," because that's what we see every night, much like all the other right handers. Because we're big, yes, we'll give up more threes than a lot of teams. Seven footers aren't the best at runouts. But I have faith that over 82 games our defensive schemes will factor that in, exposing us less to that problem as experience develops. And the remaining problems will be mitigated by our sizable rebounding and interior defense and scoring advantages.

 

[Orion Bailey]

Thinking more about the wide-open offense the Blazers are probably going to play this year, I really think they need to take a long, hard look at Meyers at starting center once he's healthy. Several reasons:

1. He takes a lot of threes. This is going to drag a lot of defensive centers out of the paint. Pretty obvious, so I won't beat this to death.
2. Even when he doesn't take the three, he's standing there on the perimeter, which generally makes it much, much easier for him to transition into protecting the rim in transition than it does for a guy like Plumlee. Given how porous our perimeter defense is, that's kind of a big deal.
3. The year before last as a center he had a DRTG of 102. That was his best of his 4 seasons. It also would've easily been the best on the team if it happened last year. It was also the season where he stifled M Gasol in the playoffs. Meyers is a natural center. One who jacks threes, but still a center. He's tall, he's strong, and he's not mobile enough to defend stretch fours permanently in the modern NBA.
4. Plumlee is in a contract year. Meyers is sealed up long-term. If you have to pick one of those two guys to cement themselves as the permanent center this year, which would you rather go with? The short-armed, 6-10ish, 2 year older, poor free throw shooting Plumlee, or the 7-1, younger and three point shooting muscle-head of Meyers?
5. Bottom line: In the best case scenario of their careers, which of Plumlee or Leonard do you see being the starting center of a WCF team? Plumlee is a nice guy, a good passer, and a willing athlete. But in the end his arms are too short to defend the rim and his shooting is to poor to rely on in crunch minutes. A healthy Leonard upends the general defensive strategies of other teams.
I wrote a similar post like this last year around this time. (See below). It was also a lot Leonard Kool-Aid, so I guess you can call me a sucker for it. But I think there's still a lot of truth in what I said--although I've come around now to the realization that he's a center and not a power forward in the modern NBA.

Wanna buy my Jersey?

Lol. In serious you bring up some great points. Im all for trying it. Its going to be Center by committee anyhow, so I think he will get enough time at C to prove himself or not.

 

[EL PRESIDENTE]

We should use him like how the Pistons used Bill Laimbeer.

 

[Blazinaway]

I just hope he can stay healthy

 

[handiman]

I agree in theory, but on a game-to-game basis, I'd rather have Plumlee on the floor. Consistency, both in effort and production, counts for a lot.

 

[chzbrgr]

I think C is the only position he can play at even a passable nba level. I hated watching him guard the 4 with ed guarding the 5 those were just awful lineups regardless of who ever else shared the floor with them. But blind fanboys will say "but those were his most successful pairings" I would respond "well meyers fucking sucks unless he gets to body someone in the post on d" So Id love to see him play center exclusively but he aint gunna start. End of story. Until he can prove he's worth a damn I say 10-15 mins per game; noah vonleh type minutes, cause if the last 4 years are any indication Neil might have been better off just burning that 41million in effigy on the front lawn of the Rose Garden (cause itll never be the moda center no matter how hard they try). At least then we could say we made an effort to make the team better.

 

[SlyPokerDog]

Thinking more about the wide-open offense the Blazers are probably going to play this year, I really think they need to take a long, hard look at Meyers at starting center once he's healthy. Several reasons:

1. He takes a lot of threes. This is going to drag a lot of defensive centers out of the paint. Pretty obvious, so I won't beat this to death.
2. Even when he doesn't take the three, he's standing there on the perimeter, which generally makes it much, much easier for him to transition into protecting the rim in transition than it does for a guy like Plumlee. Given how porous our perimeter defense is, that's kind of a big deal.
3. The year before last as a center he had a DRTG of 102. That was his best of his 4 seasons. It also would've easily been the best on the team if it happened last year. It was also the season where he stifled M Gasol in the playoffs. Meyers is a natural center. One who jacks threes, but still a center. He's tall, he's strong, and he's not mobile enough to defend stretch fours permanently in the modern NBA.
4. Plumlee is in a contract year. Meyers is sealed up long-term. If you have to pick one of those two guys to cement themselves as the permanent center this year, which would you rather go with? The short-armed, 6-10ish, 2 year older, poor free throw shooting Plumlee, or the 7-1, younger and three point shooting muscle-head of Meyers?
5. Bottom line: In the best case scenario of their careers, which of Plumlee or Leonard do you see being the starting center of a WCF team? Plumlee is a nice guy, a good passer, and a willing athlete. But in the end his arms are too short to defend the rim and his shooting is to poor to rely on in crunch minutes. A healthy Leonard upends the general defensive strategies of other teams.
I wrote a similar post like this last year around this time. (See below). It was also a lot Leonard Kool-Aid, so I guess you can call me a sucker for it. But I think there's still a lot of truth in what I said--although I've come around now to the realization that he's a center and not a power forward in the modern NBA.

Except Meyers introduction to the NBA came from LaMarcus "I don't wanna play center" Aldridge.

Meyers don't wanna play center.

 

[VanillaGorilla]

Please no.

Little nitpick here, but Meyers is not a "muscle-head". More like knuckle-head.

 

[HomerLovesKoolAid]

I can already feel the slight breeze from Meyers swatting at air and hear the @jlprk rant on contact lenses.

This is gonna be a great year!

 

[BigGameDamian]

We should use him like how the Pistons used Bill Laimbeer.

Laimbeer wouldn't be accepted in today's game. He would get thrown out and suspended in every game he played in.

 

[BigGameDamian]

Also if these guards played against big men like Laimbeer, when driving inside they'd get a big rude awakening.

 

[riverman]

If he plays more center, I'm afraid we'll never read another classic swish3 thread again!

 

[Wizard Mentor]

We should use him like how the Pistons used Bill Laimbeer.

Close....
We should use him like how the Pistons use Bill Laimbeer.

 

[Denny Crane]

Mehmet Okur.

I would love it if Leonard produces like he did.

 

[ebott]

I keep hearing people debating who should be the starting center. I feel like it's a bit of a pointless debate since Plumlee is likely to be the only healthy one at the start of the season.

 

[Pinwheel1]

Except Meyers introduction to the NBA came from LaMarcus "I don't wanna play center" Aldridge.

Meyers don't wanna play center.

I don't think this is true. I could be wrong but I seem to recall an interview (or maybe just a comment) that led me to believe he wanted to be used more as a center. He believes he has the skills to play down low and does not want to be used just as a stretch 4.
Whether or not he can pull it off is another story but in his mind I think he really wants to play center.

I would be happy if we just used him like we did Marcus Camby. Forget the 3 point line, plant him just above the free throw line. He is a decent enough passer to play the high post and hit that 15-18 footer. Now if he could block shots like Marcus Camby.....

 

[JDC]

I've had this feeling since the beginning of the year, but I think we start the year the last year's ending lineup. If both Meyers and Festus are healthy and producing, then we try and move Plumlee for a first.

Going to be tough though since this draft class is supposed to be pretty stacked.

 

[BlayZa]

for the love of God.

no.

 

[GriLtCheeZ]

I agree with moving Myers to center, but he's got to recover from his injury and beat out three guys in front of him before inserting him into the starting lineup. Right now he's the 4th string center.

 

[Sinobas]

Meyers interior help defense is terrible. He's late to react to everything. Though he's not a bad defender when he's actually in the right spot. He can play center if he improves on that.

But another problem is his ability to finish inside. He seem to be totally outside of his comfort zone in the paint. And that's not a good trait in a center either.

 

[Mediocre Man]

I wasn't aware he was eligible for the D league?

 

[BlazerWookee]

Thinking more about the wide-open offense the Blazers are probably going to play this year, I really think they need to take a long, hard look at Meyers at starting center once he's healthy. Several reasons:

1. He takes a lot of threes. This is going to drag a lot of defensive centers out of the paint. Pretty obvious, so I won't beat this to death.
2. Even when he doesn't take the three, he's standing there on the perimeter, which generally makes it much, much easier for him to transition into protecting the rim in transition than it does for a guy like Plumlee. Given how porous our perimeter defense is, that's kind of a big deal.
3. The year before last as a center he had a DRTG of 102. That was his best of his 4 seasons. It also would've easily been the best on the team if it happened last year. It was also the season where he stifled M Gasol in the playoffs. Meyers is a natural center. One who jacks threes, but still a center. He's tall, he's strong, and he's not mobile enough to defend stretch fours permanently in the modern NBA.
4. Plumlee is in a contract year. Meyers is sealed up long-term. If you have to pick one of those two guys to cement themselves as the permanent center this year, which would you rather go with? The short-armed, 6-10ish, 2 year older, poor free throw shooting Plumlee, or the 7-1, younger and three point shooting muscle-head of Meyers?
5. Bottom line: In the best case scenario of their careers, which of Plumlee or Leonard do you see being the starting center of a WCF team? Plumlee is a nice guy, a good passer, and a willing athlete. But in the end his arms are too short to defend the rim and his shooting is to poor to rely on in crunch minutes. A healthy Leonard upends the general defensive strategies of other teams.
I wrote a similar post like this last year around this time. (See below). It was also a lot Leonard Kool-Aid, so I guess you can call me a sucker for it. But I think there's still a lot of truth in what I said--although I've come around now to the realization that he's a center and not a power forward in the modern NBA.

Plumlee and Leonard play very well together, and their skill sets complement each other nicely. Plus, there's the opportunity to start the "White Towers" chant.

 

[BlazerWookee]

I keep hearing people debating who should be the starting center. I feel like it's a bit of a pointless debate since Plumlee is likely to be the only healthy one at the start of the season.

You can hear them debating? I have to read it...

 

[BBert]

Plumlee and Leonard play very well together, and their skill sets complement each other nicely. Plus, there's the opportunity to start the "White Towers" chant.

Umm...let's say 5000 predominantly white people in a noisy basketball arena start chanting "White Towers". What might that sound like to the undiscerning ear?

 

[riverman]

Umm...let's say 5000 predominantly white people in a noisy basketball arena start chanting "White Towers". What might that sound like to the undiscerning ear?

A Lord of the Rings festival?

 

[BlazerWookee]

Umm...let's say 5000 predominantly white people in a noisy basketball arena start chanting "White Towers". What might that sound like to the undiscerning ear?

Ummm... that's the joke?

 

[Tunchi]

Ummm... that's the joke?

Hey you gotta admit it does sound like white power

 

[Boob-No-More]

Hey you gotta admit it does sound like white power

White centers matter!

BNM

 

[riverman]

White centers matter!

BNM

Oreo cookies matter

 

[BBert]

Ummm... that's the joke?

I get it.