Everyone seems to agree that Asik will be traded in the next six months. A major question is can D-Mo successfully back up Howard? While Asik has been hurt D-Mo has begun to see minutes in the backup center role. Unfortunately this question has implications beyond the backup role. Howard has been a very durable player in the NBA. But no one can be as invulnerable to injury as Superman. Asik is certainly the ideal Howard backup. The question is whether D-Mo could be adequate, or do the Rockets need a defensive center in the trade? If not the Rockets can go for BPA or draft picks. I have watched every Rockets game this season. Twice. In the last 10 games D-Mo has been obviously focusing in on his defensive assignment. He can be seen to find his mark on the court every 3 or 4 seconds even when his rotational responsibilities take him far from his man.
This time right now is essential his tryout period. He's still got another year or two of physical maturity that will help as well. I always said his natural position is the 5, but his body hasn't matured just yet. He's got several more games before the Dec 15th deadline to make his mark. I guess we will soon find out.
Of course he can be an adequate back up to dwight as most bigs are not score first players so you can almost hide DMo on the court. He will never be a shot blocker but theirs no doubt he has the potential to be a solid paint protecter compared to the rest of the the league. He is still only rebounding the ball at 13.6% of the time on the defensive end and 7% on the offensive end which are still below what he should be but with time you could see him push his overall rebounding % from what it is now at 10.5% to the high teen pushing on 20. I'm going with yes but the huge concern is if we get into a series with say the spurs and dwight gets in fouls trouble and it's the pressure to hold down the paint
D-mo is not a Center, he is a Power forward. I think it is unfair and unrealistic to expect him to defend the paint and block shots like a true center. D-Mo needs to play next to Asik or any center that can make up for D-mo's weakness. He deserves some playing time. I think he should be the back up PF, move Casspi to small forward to lower Parson's playing time. He is playing too many minutes, his back is a concern.
D-Mo is seven feet and 263 pounds. I could be wrong but that seems to be an ideal size for a NBA center.
I agree with moving Casspi behind Parsons. Garcia's defense is atrocious and unless he is hitting 3's at a hi-clip he is the biggest weakness off the bench. DMo at the 4 makes more sense. But he can't shoot 3's. The experiment is over. He is a low post player and not a bad defender on the perimeter.
He looks very small, like he weights 220. I know he's been trying to bulk up during the offseason, but I just dont think he will ever be a great defensive presence, that's not his game. Look at Dirk Nowitzki for example. No one ever mistakes him as a defensive shot blocking presence in the paint. He has always played along side a true center, from Shawn Bradley, Dampier, Diop, Chandler, and now Dalambert.
After DMo is traded to the 6ers early next week he will develop such that within the next three years DMo will be the best player from the trade.
No. He's just not that good. Morey was hoping for one of either tjones or dmo to work out and jones did. Doubt the team is gonna wait around to see if dmo can get it together. He may develop into a decent player in the right situation, but the front office by now know he won't be an elite player.
He needs to be paired w/Greg Smith. Greg Smith is more of a rebounder. D-Mo is just not strong enough to be paired w/Casspi
I think he can be a good back up center, but I would not say he could be a good defensive center or an adequate replacement during a Howard injury. you would want to get a third string center in an Asik trade, someone who is not as good as DMO necessarily, but is better on defense and can play in the event of a Howard injury. What Dmo would bring as a backup to Howard is a different sort of look to the team while he was on the floor. He would not be approximating what Howard does like Asik would, he would give the team a more offensive minded spread court look and they could run more. I definitely see Donatus as more of a center, and I think if the Rockets gave him a defined role that he would develop better and play more confidently and free. Despite his big words, he seems to be a little mentally fragile, and I think the coaching staff showing they believe in him would really help him step up his game.
Too much spins and not enough jumps. Who doesn't like a center who can shoot threes. Jokes aside, he still needs another 20 pounds.
D-Mo has feel off the depth charts this year. He is only getting some time because Asik is out. Besides one game where he scored like a point a min. he really hasn't showed much improvement from last season like TJ. So no I don't see him being any kind of permanent solution behind DH.
I like the idea of developing him into a center over the next year or two. He isn't there yet but has the potential. I would discourage him from taking three pointers as well at this point. Trade off would be that we need to be more active in feeding him in the post when he is in. Motiejunas seems to contain a very unique offensive potential. We need to get him the ball in the post.
DMo is kinda the anti-Asik. He has a lot of potential on the offensive side, but the on the defensive end he seems limited. What we really need in our backup center is the defense.
I don't know if he can do well enough as back-up center. But, I think Jones can play back-up center, so I'm not too concerned with the hole that trading Asik will create. Sure, Jones gives up some size compared to Asik, but that's standard nowadays anyway. So, I don't think we need to insist on a backup center or even a big man in return.
