Why exactly did he need the back surgery? What was the injury? And I'm still trying to figure out why they're being so vague about his return
Man we need this guy back desperately, but there's still going to be a long adjustment period with the team and his physical comfort level on the court. Still, a slowly improving D-Mo off the bench would do wonders for us. We're starting Ariza/Thornton at PF, giving Montrez 3 minutes. T Jones is out with an eyelid cut. When Dwight sits out, we don't have quality depth at C after Capela. We don't need to sign anyone, just need to get everyone into practice and on the court.
Watch DMo highlights and notice how DMo is constantly creating secondary actions off the ball. This season nothing like that is happening - 2 guys play pick n roll, other 3 are standing around.
That's a lot of the season he's missing. If he's out til after X-Mas, that's 31 games. Fortunately that's the easiest part of the schedule, but that also means the rest of the team better step up. D-Mo or no D-Mo, they need to win as many of these easier games as possible before the schedule gets tougher.
Teams have gotten smarter. If you have a 4 that can't shoot, they just pack the paint and close out aggressively on the 3 shooters. That's why Dmo is so important to this team....he allows you to play with size and space the floor.
...except for big men that can play defense and stretch the floor. I like what Harrell has shown so far, but he isn't the ideal fit next to Capela or Howard until he can show he can knock down shots. With Brewer being the backup SF, it isn't easy to create rotations that keep proper floor balance with three guys that are threats from behind the line. So far, lineups with Brewer that have performed well are ones with a center and Ariza at PF. I suspect Brewer would fit well with DMo at PF and a center. Motiejunas and Howard just weren't healthy that much together last season and when they were, DMo was paying backup center a lot. When Howard and DMo have been on the court together, good things typically happen. The problem has been and still is that they just aren't on the court enough.
aka hide him until after Dec 15th rolls around when KJ can be added to Tjones for a package trade. /cynic Rockets: Hey, how about Tjones+KJ+Dekker for Markieff Morris? Suns: Is Dmo avaialble? Rockets: no, he is still injured Suns: ok, we'll do the Tjones package Rockets: nods
I think that's little too much for Kieff. After this past summer I thinks Tjones for Morris is pretty fair.
Probably is too much for Kieff, but the "SALARY" matches. That is part of the issue. If you can make the salary work for less, go for it. Probably would have to involve a 3rd team.
I keep imagining DMo's first home game, how fans go crazy when he enters the court. But then I remember it's Toyota Center... You know, borderline empty to start games, somewhat filled to end games. Only upper levels cheering... I know arena attendance doesn't define entire fan base, but we have one of the worst crowds in NBA.
