Josh has been playing fairly decent actually. He has the occasional bonehead plays, but his defense and ability to run the break have been bright spots. He will be huge in the playoffs.
I just felt like he has been a non factor since the Denver game as well, but nobody really cares about him lol. 3 straight games of meh. It is all about DMo and TJ. Denver was the last game where Josh and DMo played well. DMo has been roasted over the coals and Smoove has kind of flown under the radar.
I respect your opinion about getting into the bonus but at certain times of the game I expect the opposing teams in the playoffs to go into a foul-fest-mode, especially when the pressure is on. All the rockets front line are poor free throw shooters and whats surprising about DMO is his free throw % because he can shoot the 3 ball.
Yeah that's what a lot of members were saying on the game thread. You have to be on time for team functions for show. So Mchale did the right thing. Josh imo needs to play to his strengths. Shooting jumpers is not one of them unfortunately. Yes he did nail two crucial three's to end the 3rd. But man I cringe every time he shoots. Mchale needs to tell him to only work in the paint on offense. Lol
somebody made DMo highlight reel <iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-JrmjdOPuWc" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Personally, I still think D-Mo's biggest issue right now is aggressiveness. He will still be a mediocre to lousy rebounder, but a stiff increase in aggression can compensate that. I don't expect him to explode out towards the rim or ball or player as he is not physically built for that, but I do expect him to go against opponents for buckets or boards like he has a pair. Like Yao, he needs to learn how to get mean and establish and defend his "territory" on the court. He needs to remember he is still a 7 footer, regardless of his wingspan and start acting like it. Basically, he seems like big dog with a small dog mentality to me.
Exactly this. Thanks for taking the time to write this post out. I think some people should perhaps open a dictionary before throwing around their opinion.
Yao didn't overcome his generally slow reactoin time due to physics, I don't think Motiejunas is going to reinvent himself into a fast twitch jumpting jack anytime soon. Or ever.
Again, I am not expecting D-Mo to move like Hakeem. I do expect him to play with much more aggression however. Yao didn't overcome his slowness and lack of explosiveness, but he did figure out how to assert himself and become far less passive. If D-Mo wants to prove he is more than a system player or role player, he NEEDS to be aggressive. That means demand for the ball, shove back when shoved, stand his place as much as physically possible, and fight for every rebound like a dog fights for its bone. Basically, when I see D-Mo out there, I see a 7ft player who plays like a p***y.
Just another cherry picking by clueless acolytes. DMo is a soft p***y, just another lumbering euro trash, who couldn't get a rebound to save his life.
I think teams will be more aggressive than normal due to our poor foul shooting, but I doubt teams will purposely foul even Howard or Smith outside of desperate situations.
lol... trolls will be trolls. Where would the Rockets be this season without him??? To say he is "lumbering euro trash" when he helped carry the team (along with his teammates) after Dwight went out is just a complete fallacy of induction that is overshadowed by your willful intellectual dishonesty. Scrubs don't lead your team in scoring in games or have elite post-up moves. Root for the team, stop cannibalizing the players, and stick your head in a pile of manure.
Judging from the rhetorics of the coaching staff and Motiejunas himself, it seems that a huge thing for him this season is an opportunity to adjust the the crazy schedule and its toll on the body. He said he was working hard in the gym previous seasons simply to gas himself out simulating the effect of acumulative fatigue of getting plenty of playing time. But I guess it's still far from the real effect. So lately he looks leaner, perhaps suggesting a drop in weight and energy levels a little bit. What I'm saying is not trying to take away from what he's doing, though. He's still good. But the ups and downs of his game is just a part of the business in the NBA, it seems. What I hope and anticipate is, that the next season will be his 'real' breakout season as he will be used to peculiarities of the regular season and the confidence, hopefully, will be there. Although putting this statement in the context of what he's done this season may seem weird at first. But seriously, I think he has that extra gear in him to turn in up in the next couple of years.
Great post. I didn't realize this. I'm really excited to see how effective DMo is with Dwight back. Over the last 11 games, DMo has nearly doubled his 3 point attempts per game vs the rest of the season, from around 1.6 to 3.2, and he's making a red hot 51% of them. If he can stay above the mid 30s on that kind of volume, teams will have to start respecting him and Dwight/Harden will have tons of room to operate in the paint. Also, with Dwight back, DMo will likely have the 2nd best post defender on him instead of the best. That means Griffin instead of Jordan, Nowitzki instead of Tyson Chandler, Randolph instead of Gasol, Kanter instead of Ibaka, etc. DMo can take those guys to school in the post. Put him next to a elite post/paint defender and rebounder in Dwight, and I think you will see his defensive effectiveness pick up as well. He knows what he's doing on that end......he's just playing out of position as a defensive 5.
I felt the same way with Yao also. I'm not saying they're comparable in skills but once Yao started playing with more aggression, he became almost unstoppable on offense.
