Donatas Motiejunas Highlights vs. Spurs 10/14/2012

From what I see, DMo is solid defensively as a 4. He's actaully good at defending pick and roll. He defended Blair well in a couple of posessions in the post due to his height advantage.

But I'm now convinced that he's not a 5, so I won't even comment on his performance as a 5. He could be a 5 in the future or occasionally, but phsically his lack of strength and wingspan hurt his defense and even low post offense(have to shoot over bigger opponents).

 

D-mo the savior of the houston rockets in the coming new age!

 

Well, defense does define your position. I agree with Morey on that. And we know there's no way he can play 1, 2, or 3. So, that makes him a 4 and posssibly a 5 in certain lineups. He's a 4/5.

What he develops into remains to be seen. Some of you guy are saying he needs to add 25 lbs of muscle, etc. That sounds like you're trying to make a center out of him. He's probably pushing 235 right now. You add 25 lbs on his frame and all of a sudden he's at 260. Guys are going to naturally add weight as they age. I'm not in a hurry to speed up that process. But what I'm saying is I can see him adding enough weight to become more like Duncan position wise. That being, Duncan started his career strictly as a 4 playing alongside DRob. However, as Duncan has aged and gained weight, even though he didn't want to play the position, he has played more 5 minutes as his career progressed.

Somebody on this team has to be a primary 5 when Asik is not on the floor. In my opinon, it is not Greg Smith. I don't think Smith should make this team. The backup 5 has to come from one of PPat, DMo, Royce, or TJones. Defensively it does not appear that DMo can handle that role right now, in my opinion. Although offensively, I think he's best suited to be playing the post and drifting out for the 3 or dropping into the low block for the post up or the PnR finish. But it appears to me that when Asik leaves the floor, our defense goes to .... in a handbasket. There's no anchor. Haven't seen it with DMo nor have I seen it with TJones. If DMo isn't a center, than TJones for sure isn't one either.

That leaves PPat and Royce. Interesting thing, I tweeted Morey a week or so ago about his comment about Royce playing the 5.

Morey's response:

I guess my response to Morey would be...so...then Artest is a 4-5, because White's base and strength more closely resembles a guy like Artest than anybody else I know of.

In my humble opinon, I think in the NBA you have to look at bigs in combination. All the holes have to be covered. Somebody's got to provide the base strength. That could be a guy like Chuck Hayes or that could be a guy like Omer Asik. And then somebody has to provide rim protection. Now, that may very well be the same guy or it may be his teammate. In Omer's case, it's the same guy. In Chuck Hayes' case, Chuck really would have been best suited to be paired up with a guy with the ability to protect the rim. (That's why I always felt the Rockets were at their best with Yao and Chuck both on the floor together over Yao and Luis or anybody else. Because both guys had the ability to lock down defensively in the post and one guys, Chuck, had the ability to run with guys on the perimeter, and one guy, Yao, was a great rim protector.)

DMO....can't provide that base strength defensively....and I'm not sure how much of a rim protector the guy is even....and I'm not sure how well he can do on the perimeter against 4s/5s that go outside and shoot the J. Although his length should help him cover space and contest against those guys. So, in my opinion, although it's not going to happen, at least to start the season, I think the logical starting combination of bigs should be....Asik and Dmo. Because Asik is so dominant in the paint and because DMO has the offensive skillset to make up for what Asik lacks. And because DMO right now cannot play defensive center. And because Patterson is probably our second best defensive post anchor behind Asik.

If I were McHale, I'd start Asik and DMO, and I'd bring Patterson off the bench to spell Asik and play with TJones. And I'd look to see if White can actually develop enough defensively to replace Patterson with the post defense. In my opinion, Morey is stretching it with Royce. I don't see Royce being effective in the NBA as a 5. I think he's better off to lose some weight and be a big 3 like Artest with the ability to make plays facing up and post up against smaller defenders offensively. But it's worth a try. If White is going to be a 4/5 then he has to be paired up with a rangy guy (TJones) that can block some shots and run with him. Because Royce would be a very unique 5, even more unique than Hayes was/is.

 

You're right ^

Royce definitely is NOT a 5, it's pathetic how morey is even thinking about him as a 5.....

Just stop being lazy / cheap and get us a backup center.

 

Big Turk making it happen!

 

I remember in the draftexpress scounting video for Royce White, it mentions that the most, if not only standout defensive merit for White is his low post ppp allowed. Morey may see the same stat, and feel it's best for White to take advantage of his strength. BTW I didn't see that stat from any other resource, so I can understand it may be overlooked by a lot of fans.

Also White is a couple of inches taller than Artest and have nice wingspan for his size.

I agree technically, you suggested lineup is well balanced. Of course it's hard to imagine Mchale would start DMo at the very beginning. Also, usually the starting lineup requires significant defensive ability, so Ppat is a natual choice. I still have high hope for Ppat if he could ever regain his rookie season explosiveness.

I thinkl the starters aren't taking preseason games that seriously for most teams. We should wait and see how our rookies perform in real NBA games. It should be exciting.

 

I have a hard time seeing Patterson as a 5, either. I don't think either one of the two are. I think the reason we have a harder time seeing White as a 5 (vs. Patterson) is because of his abilities with the ball.

 

The issue with Pat at the 5 is that he doesn't seem to be much of a rebounder. He is great at defending the pick and roll and very good both man and help D, but his rebounding rate was rather low even back in his rookie year-- seems that challenging shots tend to take him out of rebounding position.

I would love to see how Royce White does at the 5-- particularly whether he can keep the Rockets competitive on the boards. Chuck Hayes, who has some of the similar physical characteristics, was generally an excellent defender, even when 7 footers post him up, but was a little vulnerable to the Gasol/Bynum type getting rebounds over him for second shots. Also, I don't know if Royce has Chuck's quick hands and skill level to skip guys before they get their balls up.

On the other hand, if Royce can be decent enough at the 5 (which should be less of an issue if the opposing backup 5 is either a PF or a 7 foot stiff, but the team would still miss Asik's rim shot blocking), he can present a mismatch going the other way. Most 5s and 4s are not used to guarding the ball in transition, or defending the ball handler in the half court.

 

Put him with Steve and Cat ... "It's over."

 

White is taller, stronger than Hayes (especially in Chuck's earlier years). Based on their college rebounding rate, White seems to be a better rebounder as well. Chuck developed his passing later, but White is already on par, if not better at this stage. White is already well ahead in his handle, dribble and offense.

White may develop to be a richman's peak Chuckwagon in all aspects of the game. I'll take that gladly.

 

I actually like that DMo is learning to play center. A big part of the Lakers success was that Gasol could play next to Bynum one minute and then move over and play next to Odom. The versatility of a skilled 4/5 is invaluable. Bosh and Garnett also did incredibly well at center last year.

Yeah, there are defensive concerns but in many situations DMo will be a huge mismatch for opposing teams, especially with his range. And it's not like he can't learn to play better help defense, that's more of a coaching issue than a talent issue. Bosh was not a good defender in Toronto, but is now a great help defender on the pick and roll.

 

all these guys you mention have incredible length.

he could get better, sure. but it's a square peg - round hole situation.

 

Al Horford is an all-star PF/C that doesn't have great length and athleticism. He's just a solid all-around player. But you're right, we don't want DMo to play all his time at center. I just don't think it's as bad an option as everyone else does. Heck, even Toni Kukoc, a natural SF, spent time at C and it wasn't all that bad. The position's a lot more flexible than in the past.

 

So the question is, is Royce White a Point Center?

 

I definitely hope that the Rockets give this a shot. Royce would cause serious matchup issues here, and most times he wouldn't be trying to stop the primary center. Royce is strong, mobile, and slightly taller than Chuck. Point-Center. Works for me. Either Dmo or TJ would have bench duty if this happens though. Probably Dmo.

 

Al Horford is a little guy who's physically stronger than any of the 7 footers you mentioned. He's also long for his size and very mobile and athletic. He's basically a stronger, more skilled T-Jones.
Donatas would have to drastically change his body type to be like Horford in physical power. At which point he probably wouldn't be close in athleticism or mobility.

Anyway, my point is if the team wants to play him at 5 because there's no better option and it wants to tank, that's fine. What can you do?

But you shouldn't expect him to become a truly useful, versatile 4/5.
If he becomes an above average two-way starter, it will be as a 4. I could see him becoming a solid defender, as long as he's not asked to defend Bynums or protect the rim. At 5, he's a stopgap and might be ok in certain matchups, but he's no Pau Gasol in terms of versatility.

Btw, Al Horford to me is an example of wasting talent. He's an amazing high post-low post player who struggles vs. bigger centers and doesn't really protect the rim. He should be an All Star every year if he played mostly at PF and was only used at C in favorable matchups.
Instead, he's forced to play Hibbert types and gets consistently owned by these overall less talented players.
It's similar with Donatas, imo. Sure, you can use him at 5, and in some matchups it might even work fine. But generally, he's in a different tier as a PF than he is as a center.

 

I agree with Morey that your position is defined on defense.

If Chuckwagon can be a 5 then Royce White can be a 5, the question really is, does he want it like the Chuckwagon?

If he can play the 5 we can create some serious mis-matches on offense. Can you imagine the typical 5 in this league trying to guard Royce? With our mobile 4 men out there with him it should be fun to watch.

 

You really have to know your basketball to get this one. Ex-NBA player, Charles Shackleford, was once quoted as saying, "Left-hand right-hand, it doesn't matter. I'm amphibious."

Bull gets points for bringing that one back.

 

I disagree about your assessment of Horford. I don't think he gets owned by lesser centers. The only matchup that's truly gotten the best of him was Dwight, who destroys all traditional centers anyway. Horford's issues aren't on defense, it's just that the Hawks just don't get him the ball enough. I think he's similar to Paul Milsap or Al Jefferson, both of whom are equally productive at either PF or C. Amare spent years playing out of position and dominated, so I don't know why you think Horford is being held back. I think he's doing quite well for himself.

And look at Lamarcus Aldridge. He came into the league lacking strength, but high on post skills and athleticism. He's bulked up to become on par with other PFs. Now he's spending time at center and is killing it. It might just be his best position statistically. No one could have dreamed he'd be able to play center coming into the league at 230 pounds. I see a similar skillset in DMo.

 

1) Dmo has the best post game in our team while being a rookie, that should say a lot.
2) He has a good range, he can shoot 3's, mid range and make close shots.
3) He runs the floor very well and we could see that against the Spurs when he got the rebound and ran the floor with the ball.
4) He is a really good passer, so if he gets double teamed he can make an assist.
5) He actually has the experience, he was in two Lithuania training camps, he played club basketball and already won trophies, not only league titles, but personal awards as well, such as most improved young player and surprisingly, grabbed 22 boards in one Euroleague game last year making a record.
6) He is a pretty good on ball defender, he just needs to adjust to NBA, as his former club and NT usually likes to use zone defence and here he needs to adjust to man-to-man def.
7) and most importantly he has a good shot selection, I never seen him force a jumpshot or throw an airball, he can create shots for himself with the help of his footwork and speed.

So if that all skillset I listed u is not enough, please prove me wrong if you think he is not our best talent. I think he has the potential to become as good as Dirk and if he will fail, he will be the next Bargnani still with a way better post game.