My suspicion is that these two aren't just competing for a place in the starting lineup, they are actually battling for the last rotation spot. The winner will be the starting PF, and the loser: DNP-CD. Almost no NBA team run a 10 man rotation, and the Rockets are no different. When the real games begin, we will settle into our 8 1/2 man rotation as usual. 6 of those spots are locked up. Howard/Harden/Asik/Parsons/Lin/Beverley The 7th spot will be a swingman/stretch 4 taking over the 'Delfino role'. Casspi/Garcia/Brewer will compete for that, and my money has always been on Casspi taking it. The 8th spot will be the winner of the PF battle. While Garcia and Brewer can be used situationally as the 8 and '1/2' men. This of course leaves one of Dmo and Jones out. The backup PF spot will be occupied by the swingman/stretch 4 at times, Parsons at times, and Howard/Asik combo as well. At this juncture in their careers, Dmo and Jones are both 'net negative' players. Meaning they hurt the team while they are on the floor. We are forced to play one out of necessity, but there is simply no room/minutes for both. On a team looking to contend, you just can't have 2 rookie level players in the rotation. So which one will it be? Personally, I think it is easily Dmo. What the Rockets need from their PF is not individual ability. You are playing next to 2 of the top 10 players in the NBA. No matter how much individual ability you have, you are going to be overshadowed. Especially when you are a net negative player to begin with, the last thing we want is for him to take possessions away from the other, much better starters. What we need out of the PF, unless it is some unforeseen superstar we have yet to acquire, is someone who fits alongside the stars, compliments them, and GTFO of their way. Dmo is tremendously flawed, but he is a hell of a lot closer to that description than Jones, who can barely even GTFO of his own way it seems. It seems like a lot of people are calling for Jones to start. I can't see it. In fact, I am willing to bet that he gets more DNP-CDs this year than starts.
Jones outplayed D-Mo in the preseason opener. I don't see if how he continues to do so for the remainder of the preseason how you could justify starting D-Mo over Jones.
I won't list all of my reasons mostly because I don't want to tear down D-Mo to make my case for Jones but I will take that bet.
I don't even see DMo as a 4. He's a great athlete who's 7 feet tall, but doesn't have the traits/attributes of a PF. Namely, his defense, rebounding and general physical toughness are major demerits in his game. He's fast, agile, and has a very nice offensive skillset. But he's very deficient on the defensive end. This is just inexcusable for a starting PF in the nba, much less a starter on a team that can potentially contend for a title. Jones is the better rebounder, shot blocker and perhaps just as importantly, can avoid foul trouble. DMo can't even stay on the floor. Coaching the 4 spot is all about minimizing the damage at this point.
I have a feeling you won't be the only one. I'll add one condition and that is his starts only count when Dmo isn't injured. And his DNPs only count when it is CD, not due to injury, as well. I'll do $20 dollar bets for up to 5 people. You can be the first. Deal?
Jones is a much better player right now. Not even close. They will probably keep him with the 2nd unit to provide scoring punch. D-Mo has a ways to go and he won't get there this season. Unless he becomes too big of a drag on the team, starting may be the best way to keep him involved. McHale can adjust how long he stays on the floor in the 1st and 3rd quarters based on how good/bad he's playing.
I like Jones to start at the 4 because he has the ability to drive to the basket. If he can play good defense, he can start at 4 other wise the coaches probably don't trust him and use Dmo for PF. Not saying Dmo is a great defender...but his length did bother some people i am sure.
I like DMo but I think his body isn't really NBA ready yet. If he shoots light out then he should start but it's TJ who shot lights out the last month of last season at 36% from downtown. TJ just needs to put an all out effort in man d and he should start IMHO.
?? Dude's a 7 footer who has the speed and agility of a small forward. That's impressive. Unfortunately, he rebounds and blocks shots at about the same rate as a small forward as well.
Na... he'll get another local player. A better man's Greg Smith. Euros pan out or they don't. It's that simple. You don't want to drag along a minimal player when he has outgrown his rookie contract. There is still time for Dmo but in this Win now situation both could be gone. Actually this is about Veteran PF vs. DMo, Jones
TJ isn't perfect by any means, but he is much closer to what the rockets are looking for in a 4 than DMo is. TJ is going to have to learn the meaning of the word "pass" at some point however. He might also benefit from learning what the term "shot selection" means. Considering how strong the rest of the starting lineup is, the 4 will be the laggard for quite some time as long as there aren't any roster changes.
