I think he just rebounds better when there's another big man in there that seals their man off. Which probably isn't surprising. From the eye test, which is obviously not that great, Jones does a poor job of boxing out on defense.
Yeah there's no question that DMo does better playing the 4 next to a legit big man but what PF wouldn't? The DMo/Howard line is one of our best and I look forward to seeing it as often as possible from here on out.
No. When he comes back he needs to be posted up consistently with Dwight in the game. He'll get some boards...and his threes .....all in the flow... For too long folks have been knocking DMo as he's showed his versatility and slid over to play some 5 out of necessity....It is at the 4 though, where he will first become an All Star....He creates huge mismatches at both ends. And he makes everyone else so much better as he knows how to play....natural/high BBIQ. We might very well see him at the 5 more later in his career...maybe not. Either way - Tip of the iceberg / Sky's the limit.
Him and Dwight will get their share of post up. But Dwight the Superstar will get the bulk of those plays. Him dominating Portland was no accident. #Feedthebigfella
Hmmmm, so are you saying DMO will become an All-Star? And are you saying DMO is a versatile player ie.(he's effective at other positions)?
I am guessing that the team noticed he was run down and needed a rest to be fresh for the playoffs - so they decided to take a very cautious approach to a very minor situation. DD
Almost certainly. Tonight is exactly one week from when he last played, if they want to give him a full week off, the first date back would be tomorrow but I think a return against OKC or San Antonio is the most likely.
I wish Harden and Ariza could rest a week before the payoffs, too. It's going to be a brutal postseason With the Spurs, GSW, Westbrook and the Clippers out there.
I hope we play Dallas or Blazers in first round, we certainly should avoid Spurs. DMo tweeted a week ago that he's ok and would be back, so, no worries. But we lost our best deffensive guard and energy guy for remainder of the season and that would probably cost us, I don't think we can make NBA finals without him. Hope I'm wrong!
I would say that's a good guess. More than likely the back injury means alot of things. Maybe a stiff back, but could have quite a few other nagging injuries he could play on if it was a playoff game of course, but they noticed a huge drop off on the defensive end, rebounding, and finishing around the rim as the season wore on possibly due to those injuries holding him back. I think he was definitely being overused based on what his body is used to in a normal season. A couple weeks to get him back up to 100% will pay dividends IF that is the reason for his decline in the areas he was struggling.
Harden and Ariza are the ones I'm concerned about as far as legs go come playoff time, 37 and 36 minutes respectively is a ton of playing time. Harden having to carry the team on his back this entire injury riddled season has got to be taxing on his legs to say the least.
The only news we got today: HOF Arvydas Sabonis and general secretary of Lithuanian basketball federation were visiting Rockets (Gersson Rosas) and Raptors (Masai Ujiri) to make sure teams would let both - Valanciunas and Motiejunas - play in Eurobasket tournament (teams played each other couple of days ago). They reached agreement that they will without any delays. A.Sabonis: "Gersson Rosas told us that Motiejunas soon will be ready to play full strenght. He's on rehabilitation programs right now, but injury seems like nothing seriuos (conclution made by A.Sabonis after meeting). Participation in Eurobasket, according to Gersson Rosas, is a little further plans for Houston Rockets organization because now the most important thing - NBA Playoffs."
I hope this is nothing serious. All indications are it isn't, but you never know. This would be a bigger loss than losing Beverley in my opinion.
