What IF What if DMo finally develops his 3-ball and turns into a 40% corner 3-ball shooter and perhaps 34% around the top? What IF
I still wouldn't want him shooting too many a game. Then he'll just become a useless soft player that relies too much on jumpers like say...Kevin Love. Has anyone noticed D-Mo has been more aggressive lately? Especially so while going after rebounds.
He needed to be a capable defensive presence that wouldn't get bounced around on the boards either. Offense hasn't really been a problem for the rockets for the last 3 or so years. We were always at the top end offensively and DMo's post presence, while freaking awesome, was still very streaky with seemingly below average finish ability after the move. He's earned his touches by putting his whole game together and latching onto the proper attitude. We should also thank the stars for his less-than-impressive pre draft camps so we could grab for a fair price.
This is so true. If you listen to what McHale used to say he wanted out of D-Mo before his rookie season you'll see D-Mo really worked hard at those things. McHale wanted him to run the length of the court hard on every possession. Motiejunas is like a gazelle now when running on a fast break, or back for defense. McHale wanted him to bulk up so he could be aggressive in the paint. D-Mo did just that. McHale wanted him to become a better defender and more aware on the court. This is one of his biggest strong suits at the moment. McHale wanted him to become better on the glass and an aggressive rebounder. Okay, this one is still a work in progress, but his last few games he's been doing it. You can't expect everything to happen at once. All of this improvement in terms of what the coach asked of him is a testament to D-Mo's work ethic, which has always been probably his best skill.
Yes and the cool part is he just get a little better every month, and him and James play so well together.
James doing his same "cooking them up" gesture when D-Mo was punking Plumlee in the post was cool to see.
<iframe width="420" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/gwxQ3R0Vi3g" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> I hope. . . . I hope. . . Rocket River
Say what? Page 2 of this thread Come on now, if you are going to hold others accountable sack it up - you were wrong. DD
just the open ones, i want to see him learn how to leverage his man in the post too so that the davis' of the world can't just sit back off him and block.
I believe he will stay with the Rockets for a long time now. One of the main reasons being discussed is that his low post skill set is rather rare in this league nowadays. And the guy is still on his rookie contract so it would be nearly impossible to find a better value than that.
Aw come on, Dragic is still going strong, Brooks is fine - Yao did great for a while, tons of players I like have and continue to do great. I like to watch young smart players break out and get a chance... I can't stand players that don't know their strengths and kill the team by trying to do too much. DD
In the words of the great John Stockton, the way to succeed in this league is by accentuating what you do well.
I couldn't cut and paste, but if you look at the Off and Def ratings of the rockets by 5 player groups, the groups with DMO (including the current starting 5 lineups) included are basically off the charts good (as opposed to the ones without). Eg - 108.8/92.2, 118/96, 105.8/84.2, 105.7/95, 97/83, 108.3/88.7. Those defensive numbers are enough to crush the current number 1 team (Warrios - 96). It is very clear to me - he's not being traded.
