http://www.hardwoodparoxysm.com/2013/03/18/get-it-wrong-get-it-right-donatas-motiejunas-quest-for-perfection/
Thanks for posting. Donatus is definitely not the best player on the team, but he is quickly becoming my favorite -- despite his flaws. For someone who grew up watching Dream, I will always be a sucker for someone with great post moves. I think D-Mo's potential is immense, and the thing people questioned about him (his motor, effort and love of basketball) are at this point really beyond question. I think his shooting will improve to be a strength by next season, that he will naturally get stronger -- allowing him to improve his defense, rebounding and post game. Even more importantly for his post game, by next season the team will have a chance to integrate this strength of his into their overall offensive scheme during the preseason -- so he might actually get some touches on the low block. With all that said, this stretch run to end the season has me nervous. If DMo can not prove his potential and ability to contribute as a starting 4 by the end of the season and (hopefully) into the playoffs, then Morey is going to have to make the decision to replace him as the starting PF with a free agent like Milsap or Smith. Not only do I think this would be a mistake for the team from a roster and cap space perspective, it would also heavily curtail D-Mo's role on the team and limit his growth. I'm not saying the team should mindlessly give the PF spot to DMo next season -- he definitely needs to earn that confidence from the front office by the end of the season. I'm hoping he will, since that would be best for the team now and in the future -- but his play for the next dozen or so games will be a critical factor in the Rocket's free agent and offseason strategy.
Dmo will only get better. Too much talent and a good work ethic means he's going to be at worst a good rotation guy.
Yea - can't blame the coaching staff too much for not being able to integrate DMo's post game into the offense on the fly. Hopefully by next year, it's well-integrated into the offense. I want one more year for this team to gel - especially DMo and TRob. Let's just ride it out (its not like LeBron is going anywhere for the next few years anyway - Millsap/Smith doesn't take this team over the top by any means).
I don't doubt that Dmo will improve. The real question is whether Dmo and TRob can improve enough THIS season to not jeopardize our playoff seeding and chances. PPat and Morris had their flaws, but they were for the most part fairly steady and had well integrated chemistry with the team. Unfortunately, that's not something that can be fixed overnight. We can only hope that Harden, Lin, Parsons and Asik can perform well enough to gloss over the likely inconsistency we'll get from the changes at the 4.
What exactly do you mean by well-integrated? I don't see his post game being good enough to run our half court offense through. If he bulks up just a tiny bit and is able to play under more control when posting up, then I'm sure he'll play a more prominent role in the offense*. But even if the team stays as currently constructed, I don't see him being any more than the 4th best scorer on the team. I love his potential, but he seems like he has a ways to go. *Assuming, of course, that we don't acquire a better PF in between no and then.
I mean just having a few set plays or post touches for DMo per game would satisfy me. I understand that the offense can't be run through him for the majority of the time soon, but eventually he should be able to carry the bench or even facilitate the offense at times, given a summer to grow and maybe bulk up.
I don't understand though. How difficult is it to get D-mo a few touches down low? it isn't like McHale calls very many plays anyway. it is up to Lin & harden & to a lesser extent Parsons to make all the decisions. McHale just has to remind them to do it. I don't want the entire offense running through D-mo. But I think he should be getting more FGA from down low than he should be from the 3 point line.
DMo has greater scoring upside than parsons IMO. Parsons is turning into a great player but DMo's ability in the low blocks is more elite than any of Parsons strengths on offense or defense. I feel confident that next year the strategy will be tweaked to include more sets for DMo in the post. It will require a collective effort and the coach will need to drill it into Lin, parsons & harden. DMo in the post is very intriguing. He reminds me of a young Pau Gasol. But DMo's footwork is quicker. Both were very thin guys. I'm not worried about DMo. He's 22. Natural growth and strength will happen for this guy. He's a hard worker so I'm excited about his future. In 2 years (if no moves are made) Dmo will be considered a better player than Parsons. Parsons is a great player (no knock on him)
Mmm... that's true to an extent - but getting the ball to DMo in the post isn't the easiest either since he has a hard time establishing a good position sometimes. Can't just pass him the ball - gotta clear out that side if possible and position guys on the wings to receive kick-outs. I'm not sure they've practiced it enough to have a feel for it. Requires a lot of motion and then DMo has to instinctively know where guys are on the wing. For this season, I'd like to see DMo get post touches during semi-transition/early offense. He does a good job of sprinting up and establishing good position before the defense gets set - but most of the time the ball-handler doesn't even notice right now.
I'm down with keeping our cap space and letting dmo grow. I just don't know why alot of ppl on the board don't feel the same way about the 5th pick who took a mediocre Kansas team by himself to the title game the same time to grow Trob had alot of potential also his face up game could be deadly In a yr or 2 when he gets a consistent mid range game.
On the same note...it's up to Dmo to take the initiative and demand the ball as well. The coaches need to clear it, but Dmo needs to post up more instead of running to the 3pt line. The reason why he shoots so many 3s is because he's "open" because he chose to spot up instead of post up. I'm sure Dmo is much more comfortable posting up, so I can only see that as a coaching decision.
I agree. It should be more like Lin with his jumpers. He feels it out and if its not working he moves on to the next move. Same with D-Mo. We should give him some touches down there to give him a good flow and to open up our offense and decide if its working or not. And I do think D-Mo will be fine by the playoffs. Of course not perfect, far from it, but I don't think the PPat loss will be Soo noticeable by then if we continue to see improvement from D-Mo both offensively and defensively. D-Mo's gonna be really good real soon~
I see where you are coming from. I will have to focus more on D-mo then. I was complaining before that why don't we have D-mo in the post more at first to get his rhythm then push him out to the 3 point line, but if he is struggling to establish post position at times, then that is understandable. And you do have a point the guys may just not have a feel for it just yet. I just thought that McHale was doing what he did to Ppatt, pushing him back to the 3 point line for spacing purposes. But then that might just be the easiest solution with D-mo since we are on such a time crunch & there isn't a lot of practice time.
this is exactly what I'm saying. when we go through stretches when we can't get a bucket why not say hey demo go get inside position post up if it's not there will go to a pick n roll. how hard can it be and is a omers guy comes on the double team he can pass out or pass it on there as he seems accomplished getting the ball to the right person. we don't have to pound it into him position after possession but I touch here and there when we're going to a slump shouldn't be hard. and just because he doesn't get it 2 feet from the basket doesn't mean he can't post up or shoot 5 6 feet out on his hook or j.
Let's take the facts. The most I see D-Mo running this arc: 1. After opp missed FG and rocks got rebound he runs to the paint first of all 10 players. 2. Then stop because didn't get pass ant slowly walks to 3PT line in the corner. 3. After some player launched FG ir 3PT attempt mostly I see D-Mo diving for an offensive rebound and if not running back to defense. I don't think it's good usage of offensive thread!
