D-Mo @ Eurobasket 2013 (First friendly game Aug 6)

Given that he had as a rookie 5.7 points and 2.1 rebounds in 12.8 mpg that seems incredibly pessimistic. And on defense he has an incredible work rate, NBA level athleticism for a 7 footer, is obviously an intelligent young man (probably is fluent in 3 more languages than both of us put together), and has an incredible work ethic. How can you not be optimistic?

 

8/4 is not going to happen. On defense, it will probably take D-Mo several years to be even average.

I don't trust T Jones either. If Morey is serious about making a run next season, he will trade for a legit starting PF.

 

His defense is very bad and his rebounding was disappointing to say the least. It was like he didn't even know where to position himself for rebounds at times. Those are two areas where players often don't often make significant improvements. I'm sure his shooting will improve, but other than that I see him needing a lot of work. I just don't see one thing he does amazingly well. Yes, he does have solid athleticism for a NBA 7 footer, but it's not anything that will blow you away.

If he can consistently hit the NBA 3 at 37%+ and improve his mid range game then that could set up some other things for him, but as it stands both aren't good.

The bottom line is that he is a big man who can't play defense and can't rebound. You have to be pretty freaking awesome at offense to stay on the court if you can't do either of those as a PF/C.

 

Yeah I don't think 8/4 happens either, but I want to believe!

I agree that we need to work some sort of trade for a PF. I don't really like T Jones' game as a true PF either. FWIW Pat Pat would be pretty nice to have now that we have Howard.

 

Interesting that he was starting. But apparently Valanciunas was out...
I dont if we can see a potential starting frontcourt with DMo & JV... It would be a very interesting team to follow to.

 

People focus on points and rebounds per game, but the real question is minutes per game. The other statistics largely depends on who wins the battle for PF minutes next season. Somebody has to play those 48 PF minutes and whoever gets 25+ mpg will most likely be able to put up at least 8 points and 4 rebounds. The trick is to actually not be a disaster when you are on the court (i.e. actually remember the plays you run on offense, make proper defensive rotation, not look like Jordan Hill did aback in 2010-11).

 

He looks so much less gangly and awkward with the added time in the weight room. Could mean good things!

 

The roster right now is good enough to be worth evaluating until the trade deadline. If Morey doesn't feel confident in the team's ability to compete in the playoffs, then he can go make a move. We have the necessary assets to go get a legit PF (Anderson, Ilyasova, etc.).

 

There isn't much doubt the Rockets can compete in the playoffs. The issue is making a championship run, which won't happen if D-Mo and T Jones are manning the PF position.

 

I disagree. I think Jones could be a very nice backup PF and DMo has amazing offensive skill. When you get a 7 footer who can post up, hit 3's, and is a great passer on a team with Harden and Howard.....it's pretty hard to stop.

 

It's real easy to say that somebody is going to be bad because that's what's going to happen most of the time. You wouldn't even have to watch any NBA player or even know anything at all about bb and you could say say this guy is going to suck and you would be right almost all of the time.

I saw highlights of a 7 footer who without a doubt is a lot bigger than he was when the season ended, he moved well, he ran the floor very well and shot 40% from the 3 point line, all of that looks like a positive sign to me and I think we will see improved play from Dmo this year.

 

Hey. Morey has Asik in his back pocket. If the PF position does not pan out then Morey can go outlet mall shopping with Asik. What is there not to like?

 

I'm including mpg in my optimistic numbers.

 

I'm talking about this coming season. Not 2014/15. Not 2015/16.

If you actually think D-Mo has "amazing offensive skill" on an NBA level right now, I don't have words...

Anybody here remember when Jimmy Johnson went out and got Charles Haley? That's what I'm talking about. Before the deadline, the Rockets need to acquire a Charles Haley to start at PF for a championship run next June. Obviously neophytes like D-Mo and T Jones won't get it done. That is too much slack line for Dwight and Harden to make up for. I want the Rockets to do more than just win a first-round series against a 5th or 6th seed.

To clarify something: I believe D-Mo will be better than last season. But he's very green and still has a lot of growing up to do. I want him long term instead of Jones because his upside is higher. At best next season, maybe he can be the backup to whoever the Rockets acquire.

 

if Dmo plays lets say 20mins next season i can easely see him average 10pts/5rbs/2assist.

 

How good does "Charles Haley" have to be? Are we talking about another top 15 player? Would a borderline Allstar like Luol Deng do? A specialist like Ryan Anderson? Merely a competent mid-level veteran who doesn't **** up as often as young guys like DMo? Is Charles Haley football for Chuck Hayes?

Morey has talked several times about getting home court advantage in the West being a "stretch goal" so the analytics numbers likely agree with you that the Rockets need to improve its talent level to be more than a dark-horse title contender. Vegas and some of the publicly available projections/power rankings suggest the same. My question is how far away this team has to go before becoming, say, favored to come out of the Western Conference.

Meanwhile, the Rockets front office have been remarkably patient this offseason after acquiring Dwight even realizing that they are still only a dark horse contender. They have made nothing but minimum wage signings, no major trades and not even spending the room mid-level exception. So, either they are waiting for the trade market to become more favorable (perhaps as teams lose hope during the season and decide to tank) while observing their young players and some of the bets they took in the offseason (Casspi, Covington, Brooks, Camby, etc.). After all, the team has until the trade deadline to find its Charles Haley.

 

It really bothers me to see how willing Rockets fans are to "see what happens" this season.

If we don't have a good option to improve the PF position before the season, then that's tough luck for us and it will impact our ability to win a championship this season.

Otherwise, we would be silly to waste 1/3rd of Howard's guaranteed contract hoping/waiting for two of our young guys turn out to be average rotation players.

As for D-Mo, he seems to be in peak physical condition. What % has he hit from 3pt range for his national team career? That would be an interesting stat to monitor.

 

The Rockets have until the trade deadline in November to make an move to revise the Power Forward position if any of their cuirrent options do not pan out. The last thing a team should do is make a move that locks them into an option that does not turn out good. The Rockets have a pair of 1st round picks plus Greg Smith that will get looks at the PF position. LMA is not available but if things go south for the Blazers he could be available by February so.... patience is required to ensure the best move for the team moving forward.

 

2/5 the first game

 

I will just add to this that whoever starts at Power Forward is not going to score and rebound a lot playing next to Howard. I agree with CH here. The real question is what you do to compliment Howard.

Can you always be in the right position on defense?

When Howard goes up for a block, will you block out your man and grab the rebound if he does not block the shot?

You are not going to get a lot of offensive oppertunities but when you do, can you take advantage of enough of them to keep defenses honest and prevent double teams on Dwight?

Will you run the floor when Dwight does not?

Can you elivate your game and when Dwight is not in the game?

That guy might not get more than 10 points a game or average more than 6 rebounds a game but he could still be the perfect fit next to Dwight.