From the very moment we drafted Meyers Leonard, I said he'd be a solid NBA big man in 3-4 years, with the potential to be even better with continued improvement. When others called him a wasted draft pick, a complete bust, advocated cutting him outright, said he didn't pass the "eye test" (but apparently Thomas Robinson did) and that the things he lacked could not be taught, I countered with my arguments that he had the basic tools to be a solid NBA player, that his combination of size, athleticism and shooting touch were very rare and he just needed some time to put it all together, that he could be taught proper rebounding technique and defensive positioning. In short, you just do give up on a guy this big, this athletic with this much potential after a year or two.
I made no pie-in-the-sky GOAT or future Hall-of-Fame predictions. I kept my expectations positive, but reasonable. At this point, Meyers Leonard is exactly what I thought he'd be at this point in his career. Do I feel vindicated? Somewhat, I suppose, but I'm not here to gloat. I always saw the potential in Meyers Leonard, and also saw the continued gradual improvement most others did not (mostly because they made up their mind early and stubbornly refused to look for anything positive in his game).
That said, he's not ready to start, not in a playoff series against one of the best front courts in the league. Yes, he's made tremendous strides, but he's still a work in progress. Sure, give him a few more minutes, but were not going to win this series by starting Meyers Leonard and playing him 30+ MPG. He's just not there - yet.
On a side note, as confident I was that Meyers would become a solid NBA big man after 3 - 4 years in the league, I never thought I'd see, after both players had been in the league 3 years, two threads running concurrently, one saying Leonard should start and is the key to our playoff chances and Damian Lillard is a worthless bum. But then, knowing the way emotions get the better of people in this forum, I probably should have seen that coming, too.
BNM
