I don't think he is a very good player to be honest, I'm not his biggest fan but I have to admit I think he did good and contributed to the game when both Howard and Casspi were not looking good...
Not a good comparison. the problem with motiejaunas isn't that he's an athletic dumbass like Jordan - its probably the opposite. he's a 7 foot guy with the temperament and the strength of a 6-7 guy (who shoots from outside like a 7 foot guy)
While part of your argument is true, I'm not sure you're being completely fair to DMo. He has that 3pt range, it's just hard to have a decent % when you're getting incosistent minutes, sometimes don't even get off the bench - being on the bench for the whole game can get you real cold real fast even if you do a good shootaround before the game. So I don't think he's that bad of a shooter from beyond the arc. I'd say he can reach ~36% no problem. Next, DMo never developed his strength UNTIL he entered the NBA and he made a really significant improvement in that aspect since his rookie season. All in all, I think Donatas has the BBIQ to become a decent enough defended to hold his ground. If he had the athleticism and length he could even become elite, unfortunately he doesn't possess those tools. Think something like Tiago Splitter (4th best defender on the Spurs) - a pretty adequate (above average) defender even without physical tools such as exceptional leaping ability or good/great length. And he wasn't such a good defender from the get go.
Donuts shouldn't be shooting 3s in the NBA. I'd like to see him in the Scola/Pacers or Diaw/Spurs role as a facilitator planted at the elbows.
DMo's 3-point shot this season is the same 3-point shot he had last season with the Rox and with the Vipers. Same mechanics. Same trajectory. Not a single modification to it. Thus.....same results. DMo DID NOT work on improving his 3-point shot over the summer. He may have jacked a thousand 3's a day but he DID NOT work on IMPROVING his 3-point shot. As long as he keeps shooting with the same trajectory, mechanics, and lack of knee bend...he's gonna get the same results...low 30's to sub 30 percent.
Jones managed to turn around his 25% 3 point shooting from last season with consistent minutes. To assume D-Mo cannot do the same thing is an unreasonable assumption to say the least.
DMo can improve his shooting and I believe he will. His work ethic is great. It's just that this past offseason he focused on his main weakness - lack of strength to be able to play other PFs/Cs of NBA. I think his best course of action next offseason would be to add even a little bit more strength to his lower body and work on refining his shooting mechanics.
He's 22 and had limited minutes its hard to get in a rhythm, why are people condemning him already LOL So happy he played a big role in the win, was great seeing the bench go nuts
i dont know which thread was more ridiculous the lin sucks thread or the dmo is the worst player in the nba thread
One average game doesn't make DMo a good player. He's not. He got plenty of playing time early on, and he still wasn't consistent. Again, even with all of his fouls, Greg brings the same damn effort every game. He doesn't stop. Same with TJ...as much as I cringe when he dribbles or attempts a 3, his energy, rebounding, shot contesting and running the floor separates him from DMo. DMo COULD be a decent player, but he can't choose when he wants to show up. It's his job.
Regardless of what it does or doesn't mean for his game overall, he was key last night. He is a guy hungry to earn a rotation spot right now, and he played like it. He brought a burst of grit and hustle that was SORELY lacking, and I really don't think that can be underestimated.
D-Mo used his size pretty effectively against a vey physical Memphis frontline yesterday. I was impressed.
Right on. Why McHale let Dirk, a seven footer, destroyed us while we have a seven footer 'shut-down' DMO sitting on the bench all this time? Why coaches in NBA are so ignorant about their bench players' true ability, so much so that we have the Linsanity story in NY and now hopefully the DMolition story in Houston. LOL.