NovU wrote:It was a great season but where can the Blazers go from here? Seems they hit the wall hard again. Should this team wait it out till gsw gets dismantled or should they make changes to their roster?
I believe they will run it back with only minor upgrades. They made the WCF without their key starting center. Who knows what Nurkic will be as a player if/when he returns. More than at Center, I think they need to make upgrades at the Forward spots if possible. Aminu doesn't cut it on a contender, he was useless. Harkless has his moments but doesn't show consistency.
I'd like to see Meyers Leonard get more of a shot, possibly in a Brook Lopez type role. He shot .450% from three on 1.8 attempts this season, and is athletic in the same way Lopez is. His problem is more sliding his feet and his weakness as a rim protector. That should be his focus this summer. I said in a post earlier that I thought the Blazers would use Leonard more at points in the playoffs, and they did. He spreads the floor like Lopez, and is athletic enough to pump fake and make a dive to the basket. In an era where Centers having post moves is almost irrelevant, I think the Blazers should take a more serious look at Leonard (Who is now in his prime), and see if he can give them more quality minutes.
What happened to Kanter in the GS series is the same as what happened to him a few years back in the Houston series (When he was with OKC). His defense became a liability, Leonard was even more effective defensively on the floor. Kanter offers NO rim protection, and laterally he just doesn't have it most of the time. Kanter is a good rebounder/scorer, but he can't seem to play meaningful minutes against teams who constantly run high pick n rolls, or who make him switch onto smaller players a lot. He also has issues with teams who continually attack him at the basket.
If I were Portland. I would try and upgrade at the forward spots, give Leonard a more serious look for more minutes, and run it back. Also, if they could make some upgrades to that bench, it wouldn't hurt either. A couple solid veteran presences wouldn't hurt, every contender needs those IMO.
And to note: Look at almost all the championship teams of the last decade. Teams winning titles with Bogut, Zaza, Tristian Thompson, Mozgov, Mcgee, Joel Anthony, etc at center. It's a different league, with very few QUALITY centers. POR IMO should focus on upgrading those forward spots.