Could Motiejunas and Jones both move out of the rotation?

Sample size in terms of minutes is important.
But unfortunately under McHale there is another reality.
Sample size won't be sufficient but it is better than nothing.
As a matter of fact McHale is trusting him with this little playing time.

Haters are saying he won't even be able to hold the fort down for 4-10 minutes. That is exactly what he will get 4-8 minutes a game.

Jae Crowder had 12-14 points in about 6 minutes against the Rockets. A young guy can have an impact like this.
And I hope our young PFs can get hot like Crowder in order to impress coaching staff and get more PT.

 

This is the best Parsons has played in the 3 games. He kept us in the game when Howard and Harden did not deliver in the first half, so naturally he is going to play tons of minutes.

He was the best player in the first half.

 

Jones physicality is something I miss seeing though. The dude is strong.

 

Dmo should play instead of Jones. I feel Jones is the same as last year. I heard Lin and others were talking about how good he look in the summer. Well, i don't see any of that on the court...he's the same hesitant player, not giving the ability to attack the basket or what. It's almost like he play as a facilitator and i don't know if he already reach his potential or what....cuz i haven't seen anything that changed from last year. You like to see him play a big part in the team like you would see in Casspi and Garcia. But him and Dmo ...maybe just aint' good enough or what. I am not as optimistic about Jone as i have last year at this point. So i can careless if they trade him. I think maybe he isn't smart picking up the offense and defense sets.

 

Talk about sample size. Crowder had been pretty bad for most of the the preseason, and followed up his game against the Rockets with a 0-2 night in 16 minutes.

The season is still young, and both TJones and DMo will get their chances. I hope they'll be prepared and ready.

 

I thought Jones actually did okay. However he was no match for Kantor, whom they had him matching up with. Hence McHale just stole a couple minutes to give his bigs a break. Then back to grinding with Howard and Asik.

No doubt Jones wouldn't have gotten that little run without Casspi being dinged.

 

From what I hear - D-Mo wants out. He'd rather go back overseas than sit on our bench. He was expecting a breakout year and is really down about his playing time. His agent is putting out feelers.

 

If they aren't going to play him, send him to the D-League. He has skills, I'm not sure if they don't think he is ready or if they don't think he will never be good enough. Either way, it is pointless right now to keep him on the team. I had high hopes for him and think he could be one of our best low post options.

 

we badly need a PF...

 

morey slept on the vet antawn jamsion and clippers scooped him up for that vet min. this summer, he strechs the floor, plays smart, good size, and would have worked good in our offense. he was hoping jones and dmo could get it done.

he could have kept asik with this signing

casspi will work but who will be the back up ????

 

yeah he dosne tlike to sit on the bench last year he said he wanted to go to dleague, so i can believe he wants out

 

His agent can do what he can to get a deal together that might... but probably wont entice Morey, but it doesn't change the fact that he signed a contract with the Rockets for the next 3 years, and the NBA. He knew the risk he was taking if he didn't develop a role for himself on a team... which he hasn't done up to this point.

I like D-Mo & his talent and think he's going to be a very useful player for them or another team in the future when he fixes the holes in his game, but the fact is he's a 2nd year player playing on a team that needs to win games. Either make yourself useful by filling a role, or ruin your value both in the NBA and internationally(teams in Europe watch the NBA) by pouting, and causing issues in the lockeroom.

D-Mo has the chance to be a very good player with hard work off the court. He only has himself to look at and blame. There is all the opportunity in the world with this team and its current needs. He can pout all he wants, but it wont change a thing about his future, and his current playing time.

 

Gotta love sourceless rumors. D-Mo is not making $1.4M playing anywhere on this planet but the NBA. And he has a contract that I am pretty sure Morey is not going to let him walk out on.

 

He should be the starting PF on this team - he has by far the most potential and Asik and Howard do not work.

I can see him being down about it, but he will get a chance, the season is long - his time will come.

DD

 

He can get half, and that's what he gets at the best after taxes in NBA.

 

You'll figure it out one day that naming names means no job security, which is why sources aren't named.

Obviously Morey would never let him walk out of his contract and waive him, that's crazy talk. He has value. If Morey could get a first rounder, I think he pulls the switch. I don't think D-Mo has that much value at this point though. It probably forces him to be packaged with someone else.

 

I agree that he would ideally be the best fit, and his time will come eventually, but how do you make a kid like this buy into it, and keep working to improve???... that's the problem Morey and McHale have had with him and other young players. How do you get them over that mental hurdle?

Him and Jones are so close, but so mentally so far away. Mentally they just cant watch and grasp what a guy like Beverley did to earn a spot in the rotation with probably even less talent. It'll click at some point, but I just hope that happens while they are still on the roster, and not with some other team.

I'd like to see what both Jones and D-Mo could become when it clicks mentally for these guys, but like most young bigs year 3 is when they become consistent mentally in their execution. Lets hope they click sooner this year or Morey might have to make tough decisions if deals come available.

But for now, Morey can't let the noise of the 9th guy in the rotation bother him from focusing on making the next move, or non-move, count. That move or non-move will really shape whether this team can contend for years or whether or not they become just another middle of the pack playoff team who can't get over the hump. This next move, or holding off and staying firm will be a defining moment in Morey's plan for building this team to contend.

 

Both Jones and D-Mo should be allowed to play full games now more than later. We are definitely going to need them later in the season. Both are noticably better than last season. I don't see what the problem is.

 

CBL... there is this thing called a rotation. They can only go 10 deep at the most, but keep in mind that at least one big would HAVE TO be added to the rotation if-

A. The Rockets weren't trying for many different reasons to make the Asik/Dwight combo work
B. Casspi wasn't such an unexpected surprise
C. The Rockets could actually benefit by going 10 - 11 players deep which they cant right now

So while its disappointing that neither guy is in the regular rotation, we should be incredibly thankful for what Casspi has meant to this team already. He hasn't given up much at all on the defensive end, and is an exceptional rebounder. Not sure how anyone couldn't be impressed with the turnaround he has had in his career so far this season. Also, keep in mind this guy isn't ancient or anything. He might still take big leaps forward in his career yet still.

Also last night was a positive sign that Smith will reinsert himself in the lineup at some point here really soon. If he can move around well enough to create spacing for Dwight(keep in mind its not always about hitting 3's to create space.... movement can help as well), I wouldn't be shocked at all if he takes over the starting spot pretty soon & the offense really starts to excel to where it was previously.

and then there is the Asik thing-

Just a tough situation that we have to be patient with. If you are Morey and McHale you have to at least try it out for the first few weeks of the season. You dont have much to loose early, and everything to gain... both by exploring the possibility of going twin towers on teams, and increasing Asik's trade value with more minutes.

Its painful to watch, but its necessary right now unfortunately. I think Jones & D-Mo were both noticeably better in the preseason, but I understand why they aren't playing right now. Just too many forces outside of their control, but I will say this... they MUST make use of what opportunities they might get either in garbage time, and in the case of injuries. The Crap display they all showed the other night in garbage time vs. the Mavericks wont help their case at all.

 

Garbage time doesn't count when you don't play at all in one game, then get 3 minutes in the other game, then don't play at all the next game, then play 3 more minutes again the other game. You can't show anything when you average 1,5 minutes per game and you're sharing that time with other 3-4 guys who are as disappointed and hungry as you.
I hate that Casspi is playing so well, I don't see him getting any better than he is now though. And Asik is really horrible, should have traded him prior to the season when he had monster reputation.
Rockets have no right to expect big things from Jones and Motiejunas, when they let down these guys so many times.