I remembered criticizing Donuts for talking so much before he even stepped on the court and got hell for it. I am vindicated
Once we got Harden and were in playoffs mode, I don't think developing Morris was one of our priorities. Our main priority was to see if he could still be useful as a spot up shooter and when he wasn't, he was relegated to the bench.
The problem with a lot of fans is that they fail to see beyond the basic box score. Sure if you looked strictly at his numbers in college, he was nothing to phone home about. If anyone had watched him play though, they would have known he was a steal at the 2nd round. I knew the moment he was drafted that Budinger was headed out the door. Such a great draft by DM.
I was always intrigued by DMO and disappointed by the selection of Morris over Leonard. I loved Leonard's game at SDSU and his hands are just freakishly big. With Parsons I figured he was a home run swing where he would either bust out or be a quick contributor. Once he got some action, I immediately knew he was better than Bud. I still think DMO will be a good player.
DMo really just needs to add on more weight and develop a consistent midrange shot. That way he can act as both a midrange swing pivot as well as a PnR threat. Right now, he is too raw and skinny.
I agree...but his agility is part of his game so he can't add too much weight, he just needs to be able to handle is ground better. And to a previous poster, its waaaaaaaay to early to label DMO a bust or being 'vindicated' of anything. Big men notoriously take longer to develop and adjust to the NBA game. The guy is def. a baller and has the offensive moves/aresnal to be very good. He def. proved that to the rockets in practice so he needs some time to adjust to games. If he works hard this offseason, I think he'll surprise a lot of people.
Motiejunas, in the always misleading "Per 36/Mins" stats, he's the 2ND LEADING SCORER on the team behind Harden. With Terrence Jones considered a stretch PF, Motiejunas shot better from 3 than Jones (Though both were terrible. And Jones sample size too small, only shot 19 3's to D-Mo's 83) D-Mo's offense isnt that far away. He can pass the ball too. He just needs to be stronger in the post area and have a more trusty jumper. Its on the defensive end where he really needs to catch up. Morris wasnt too far from Carmelo actually, chucking up low percentage shots Morris was a disappointingly bad defender, the definition of tweener on D and not very good at making it work. Too slow for SFs, too small for PFs (Though in my opinion if the Rockets are gonna increase their variances going with Carlos DELFINO at the 4, Morris is a better option there who WAS LEADING the team in 3pt% before he got traded) Oh well on Mook Budinger wasnt that bad a player even past the "better than Trevor Ariza" extra credit. But Parsons just had the "intangibles" over Budinger.
Morris wasn't that bad. He would have been perfect as a stretch four in our lineup. A lot better than Brick-Mo.
well, they tried Morris as the stretch 4 and he was hot and cold. Showed no consistency. I think DMO was played out of position. He's not a true Stretch 4 but rather a 'roaming' 4. They should play to his strengths which = allowing him to post up and throw it to him in the paint. He's the only guy currently on the roster that has consistent post moves and when he's on and with his length, he can shoot at a high percentage. One thing I didn't like from teh coaches is that they pushed him to be a 3-point shooting stretch 4, and almost NEVER posted him up. He needs to at least be allowed to play in between the two, give him more post up chances with the occassional 3. Remember, it was DMo's rookie season. I don't think its fair to criticize the guy or toss him aside when big men take longer to develop and the guy clearly has some catching up to do on D. Lets see what happens in the offseason and give him a shot in the summer league and early season before we label him a bust or whatever. It even took Morris a year to 'figure it out' (at least somewhat). DMo should at least get that.
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