There is nothing minor about virtually any back surgery unless you are someone with no experience in that field. I unfortunately have issues from my baseball years (spine is actually curving right due to being right handed and not compensating for equal movement), and I've sat through multiple doctors telling me about my back surgery options moving forward. Nothing is minor when it comes to going under the knife when you are dealing with the spinal cord. Dwight has proof to show that he recovered fully, and can play post-surgery despite the risks of reinjury. D-Mo hasn't even shown yet that he has fully recovered especially since he's showing in limited minutes that he's having some issues with pain and soreness this early. If I was the team doctor (I'm not) I would like the evidence I see for giving Dwight a contract over D-Mo just because D-Mo has so many more unknowns. I also would feel better about Dwights overall build and posture being able to sustain more years of basketball over D-Mo's. D-Mo has had major slouching and posture issues since he was young. I even remember a draft report that mentioned it way back in the day. But for the record, as a Rockets fan, if I had to pick one of the two to move forward with in a rebuild its an obvious decision for me to pick D-Mo, but I think a doctor would hang some major red flags over acquiring Donatas because by all accounts he's still coming off of a major surgery and has a long ways to go before he's court tested. I'm not saying we should count out D-Mo or anything like that, but what I am saying is we need to stop acting like F-ing D-Mo's personal doctor on the matter. There is ALOT we don't know both about his back issues, and what the organization is not telling us.
I googled it, you're right. Moreytactics. Nothing is wrong with DMo, Morey just going radical trying to squeeze value of scrubs.
Caught the tail end of Joel blank on 790 this morning He said hopefully Team has an announcement regarding Dmo? But I did not hear any of the interview. Does anyone know what he said in regards to DMO?
Really? That is interesting. Maybe he does need a bit more recovery time, or maybe the Rockets are featuring other players, and are going to let him work out on the side while they do. DD
Jones is our 4th or 5th best backup on this team, that's perfectly fine. He's a flawed player but there are no teams who don't have a very flawed player in their 8-9 man rotation. Brandon Rush starts for the Warriors and they win. They win. The Spurs are interchanging second round picks and D-League pickups with rotation players every year. This is just such a silly discussion, absolutely irrelevant. Would we better if we had a better backup PF than Jones? Of course. But a better backup costs more in a trade, so we will get a flawed backup at another position or a future pick. Big whoop. Terrence Jones is a terrific 9th or 10th man. An excellent 4th big. We just need our starter back.
I said earlier in the season that it was a possibility that both DMo and TJones would be gone by next season. DMo because of health concerns, and Jones because of poor performance. Harrell plays a big role in this regard. If Harrrell comes on strong in the second half of the season, the Rockets may view Harrell as our PF of the future and move on from DMo and TJones. It could happen.
Yup, you're lost. Excellent 4th big is someone with an elite skill that you can put in when needed and he'd apply it. Mostly 4th big is someone with zero offense, but great defense. Biyombos of this world. Jones is below average at every single skill that big man should have, so how's he excellent? He can make occasional three and dribble the ball without purpose, not a big man's skill.
Blocked shots is a synonym of rim protection. Not all rim protectors block shots and not all shot blockers are good rim protectors. Can he block shots? Sometimes. He also makes a three and a rare layup, doesn't mean he can make threes or finish at the rim. He's garbage, I was already past the stage where I hated his guts, since he's been trash for 2nd season now. He had couple OK stats games and everyone's back in love with him what started to piss me off.
LOL. A conversation about D-Mo is always about Jones and vice versa.... and I have no idea why but it just happens. I love D-Mo. Fav player on the Rockets, but I'm just concerned that his body can't match what his will & his heart want it to do for an NBA career. The back surgery, while some preach that its merely a scratch, is concerning to me, and the organization keeping this latest back "soreness" under tight wraps has me more concerned. Which brings us back to Jones, Capela, and Harrell. I'm more than willing to take a gamble with D-Mo moving forward, but you can't just assume that D-Mo is going to be all you need for the next 5 years along with Capela & Dwight. There are a ton of questions in general for this team moving forward, but none bigger than the big man rotation.... D-Mo included. But the bigger question mark is the Dwight Howard (23+ million dollar) situation. Compare D-Mo and Jones at 2 mil a pop vs. what Dwight is sucking up, and it should be a much bigger issue.... but for whatever reason we keep getting dragged into talking about the 4th or 5th option in the big rotation.
So, why is the minor back surgery more concerning than TJones and his 3 injuries a year - or his nerve problem in his leg? Or Capela and his groin injury last year? Or Dwight and his back surgery - much more extensive than Dmos - a couple of years ago? DD
Because it was a "a minor back surgery" that took longer than anticipated to recover. And now after ~14 games, the back is sore. And frankly, DMo looks like a player we would want to keep long term so it is concerning his return isn't going as planned.
That is if you buy the "Sore back" which I don't - as he was on a treadmill and guys with sore backs don't jog on a treadmill. But I hear ya - we shall see. DD
Are you asking me or just to the thread? Are you asking why I'm more concerned? Are you even going to listen to me, or are you just offended that someone is seemingly picking on D-Mo? I think you are a solid poster DD but you get pretty worked up when you think someone is just disagreeing with you when really they aren't. I'm not necessarily. If you are interested in my opinion (doubtful), its because I believe D-Mo has the talent to be a huge piece to this team. Second option offensively, and really the key piece to your big man rotation. Its more concerning to me because I have a history of back injury myself, and I will tell you straight up honestly that there is no back surgery out there that is unconcerning. Even a small procedure is likely underlining major issues that will likely linger into the future. Its a big freaking deal, and debilitating for athletes and often it can end what you previously were able to do as an athlete. Comparing it to a groin injury is pretty ignorant to sports injuries and the human body in general. Now Jones' nerve issue... that's another one that hits close to home as someone who is married to a former athlete who now has a disability, not cause of nerve issues, but spinal bleeding leading to a stroke.... at 30 years old. When I heard about Jones' symptoms I couldn't help but feel some deja vu. Anytime a major limb or a whole side of your body goes limp its scary if you have any experience with spinal or brain injury. Yeah.... Jones' nerve issue was/is serious and should have been viewed as potentially career ending. Any time you go under the knife around your spinal cord, whether the procedure is serious or not, the spinal cord is freaking serious, and this seemingly small procedure probably is a warning sign for lifelong issues Donatas will have to work hard to avoid affecting not just his career in the NBA but his daily life as well. Laughing it off, and snubbing people who want to at least acknowledge the risks is ignorant. Now I know you wont read this part, but I will put it here anyways. I STILL want the Rockets to gamble on Donatas moving forward as their primary target for taking that PF spot next to Dwight or Capela. I think his talent is that good to where they still need to plan and prepare for him to be here in the long run..... D-Mo has risk we need to be smart enough to acknowledge.
So the only article out there says there is no timetable on his return. That blows. I really think DMO can be a good facilitator on offense and is clearly our best back to the basket post up player. But back injuries are tricky.
