Would you trade Donatas Motiejunas for Goran Dragic?

Well you now are comparing all PGs to a specific subset of PFs. Of course the latter is rarer.

Millsap isn't 7 feet but he's better than DMo and on a contending team, for example. Millsap is probably a top 10ish PF just like Dragic is a top 10ish PG.

 

The reason why the Rockets don't consistently go to DMo in the post is because he cannot consistently perform in the post.

In the latest game, for example, DMo made a few nice moves vs. Spencer Hawes but didn't manage to do much once the Clippers switched DeAndre Jordan on him and paid some more attention to denying him post position and stopping him. This is when the Rockets had to look for other things to do within the 24 second shot clock limit.

Harden, on other hand, can typically keep on generating good shots for himself and for teammates even when the defense is paying a great deal of attention to him every single night.

 

Hes averaging above 50% in the post. Do you not watch the games or are you just trolling?

 

I'm comparing all good PG's to a specific subset of PF's because the PF in question is in that specific subset....and of course they are rarer.

As to Millsap, you are aware that there are 2 sides of the ball right? Sure Millsap at 30 is a bit better offensively than DMo at 24 (but not a more efficient scorer), but Millsap is a pushover defensively and DMo is a plus defender especially around the rim. That's just a really bad example if you are trying to deflate DMo's value.

 

DMo does and has performed consistently very good in the post when the Rockets have gone to him. Don't believe me, just ask Marc Gasol the 2012/2013 DOP and and Joakim Noah the 2013/2014 DOP. Neither of those guys have had any luck guarding DMO in the post in multiple games. Ask the TPups after DMo put the team on his back to send the game into OT and then basically win it in OT.

The Rockets do not consistently go to DMo in the post. When they do go to him they are frequently late with the entry pass.

 

Carl has been full of piss & vinegar in regards to DMo ever since the Rockets traded Patrick Patterson.

 

Again Harden is still having to play like superman even with DMO in the lineup, he will have nothing left in the tank like the last playoffs. Yes I can imagine Dmo averaging 14-16pts and 5-7 boards next season, but I want a crack at winning a championship now if Dwight can come back healthy. There is not a huge drop off if they lost DMO and he was replaced by Jones or Smith while adding Dragic. Dragic will make everyone else better.

 

This is why I'd like to see the Rockets give the Dwight/Dmo combo a fair shot before I think about trading DMo away. Having a big man that requires the other team to put their best post defender on him and pay extra special attention to him will open things up so much for Howard and vice versa.

Come playoff time, the pace of the game tends to slow down and unless you have a freak of nature like Lebron or Michael Jordan, a playoff series typically goes to whichever team gets the best play out of their big men. We saw this last year when our series with Portland essentially turned into Howard vs. Aldridge.

 

This was one of the most ridiculous statements about DMO ever.
Take a look here : http://stats.nba.com/playtype/#!/post-up/?OD=offensive&dir=1&PT=player&sort=aFG

DMO is not just good but ELITE in the post and to say he isn't even good proves you don't watch any games.

 

You might be forgetting Damien Lillards 25.5pts and almost 7 dimes in that Portland series where he completely dominated. I still have nightmares of Wesley Mathews and Batum platooning their defense on the spent James Harden without any help from another backcourt playmaker. Ugggghhhh

 

And it's on both sides of the ball, take a look here

If you scroll all the way to the bottom, you'll see guys like Al Jefferson, Chris Bosh, Ryan Anderson and Paul Millsap. This is exactly why there's no way the Rockets trade DMo. He has impressive numbers on both sides of the ball.

 

I wasn't deflating DMos value, I was addressing your claim that pg is a super deep position while pf isn't. Not the case.

Millsap is bad in D? Lol, that's just wrong. He's always been very solid. Gets more blocks and steals than dmo too.

We can also make a subset of pgs like Dragic. How many pgs can average 20 and 6 with a TS% over.600? How many will make an all NBA team?

 

Thanx.
Damn I didn't think that Dieng would be so low. Monroe's statistics prove once again what the eye test says. His defence is god awful.

What is strange is that most fans especially like homers in CF almost always severely overrate their own players. But here we are with DMO and people dismiss him as an afterthought.
I'm not saying that DMO is a future star. But he is ELITE in the post and the stats prove it.
And this is exactly why the Suns would absolutely aim for HIM and not Jones who's skill set isn't elite (plus the injury).

 

pg is absolutely the deepest position in the league. The second deepest is PF.
It so happens that DMO can play TWO positions and is not an exclusive PF.
Teams prefer players who can play multiple positions because it gives flexibility with matchups.
Defence in the POST. That's where DMO's skillset shines. IN THE POST.
Steals btw are nice and good but more often than not also a product of the team defence.

 

Yes, this is exactly why you deal for Dragic.

 

I don't think we should trade DMO for Dragic because there's the risk he goes to another team during the summer. Phx is screwed, we should just give them the pick and Capella + filler and get it done. They are lucky to get something instead of losing him. Getting a pick and Capella is already way too much for someone they are going to lose in 6 months.

 

Repped.

 

Ah, you think a player's defense is best measured by the number of blocks and steals they get? That explains a lot actually. Sure Millsap gets more steals and blocks, but he also gets scored on 55.8% at the rim compared to 46.4% by DMo...Actually if you look at it, the only place on the court where DMo gets scored on more than Millsap is on long 2's shot greater than 15 feet from the rim....which the Rockets basically allow players to shoot by design. DMo is better literally everywhere else on the court defensively.

As to PG's scoring 20 points per game and having a TS% over .600, do you mean how many could do that once ever on a bad team and then fail to repeat that performance? Probably quite a few. Either way, comparing Gogi to DMo is pointless because they don't play the same position and that's not the point at all.

 

If trading Dmo means Smith starts I'm going to say no again. Smith is great off the bench, I'm not so sure about him starting. He is on a good shooting streak now but what happens when the streak ends.

 

Noone is going to lose Dragic if they pay him. Pay him the max and he can play even for the Knicks or next to Kobe.
But ofcourse whoever has his bird rights can give him a longer contract.
As for the pick and Capella the Suns would hang up the phone and instead pay Dragic themselves to a nice 5 year near max contract that soon with the new cba won't be that bad while they flip IT to Boston. AND avoid a fan revolt that is absolutely coming if they deal Dragic.
The whole trade is about getting his bird rights. Whoever gets them, wins Dragic because it is a given at this point that barring an injury or a major drop in performance he is worth a max/near max with the new cba.