Could Motiejunas and Jones both move out of the rotation?

casspi>tjones>dmo>terrence williams

 

These are all your assumptions about Jones.

Unfortunately the cold hard facts show otherwise.
The Rockets score more points per possession, at better FG%, with Jones on the court as compared to with him off the court. The role he is playing simply works.

a) We don't know if he's been told NOT to shoot from outside.
b) Shooting from the outside is not the only way to make your man pay for 'cheating off' you defensively - cutting hard to the basket and finishing strong is just as effective

Again, we're a significantly better offensive team with Jones ON the court.
http://www.82games.com/1314/13HOU11.HTM#onoff

 

I don't think he was saying that Jones' play wasn't a bright spot or that Jones wasn't the best option we have at the 4 right now. He was saying that an equally good player in terms of the NBA as a whole who had his strengths weighted more toward three-point shooting would help the Rockets even more. He was saying that Jones, as an emerging quality player, could help to yield in a trade a player more suited to the Rockets' system. It's about Jones' fit with the team, not the quality of his play.

 

Paying max money to a center with Dwight's skill set has already hampered the Rockets' system. Perhaps the correct answer is modifying the system at this point, all things considered.

 

Yeah, you may be right. I'm not sure. I see both sides to the argument, but i do think Nook's argument isn't baseless.

 

Did you read my post???

We are a better shooting team with jones on the floor as compared to anyone else (including stretch 4 casspi).

Just because he can't shoot the 3 at 40% does not mean he makes it harder for others to score. He's contributing to easier baskets for every one else in other ways.

 

He is our best option at the 4. I think the point is if he could hit a mid range shot or three it would open up the floor more for others. Of course if he were LaMarcus Aldridge that would help too.

 

D-Mo is playine really well right now. His jump shot continues to be wildy incosistent, but he is playing very good big man ball.

He's averaging 7.8 Points and 5.7 Rebounds in only 17 minutes. I still wish they would feature his post game a little so he could contribute offensively.

 

In his last 6 games I should say

 

Yes, I did read it. Jones is a better NBA player than Casspi, so it's not surprising that the team plays (and shoots) better with him, but Nook was saying that a player equal to Jones (from a league-wide standpoint) whose skills were more like Casspi's would lead to even better shooting for the team.

 

TJones out and the Rockets score a season high...



I kid...I kid, sort of....lol

DD

 

Well we shoot 55% ts with Jones out there, so improving that is hard.

It's not a flat comparison to what casspi brings, it's that we shoot 5% better with jones out there compared to a floor spacer. That's not taking into account rebounding or anything else. It's flat shooting %.

Sure, I hope Jones improves his Outside shot over the off season. But lets not pretend he's hurt8ng our offense in any way under his current playstyle. It's simply fantasy to suggest that.

 

That hook shot is solid; less likelihood of getting blocked.

 

I expect we'll see some regression to the mean from that 55%. But in all honesty, I 'm not really sure about where I stand on this argument. I'm just saying I understand Nook's point.

 

Man. Who would have thunk it.

 

If you did PER 36, minus him getting tired or getting in foul trouble, he would have solid 14/10. Which is pretty good id say.

 

like seaclubber said, i wished we would feature his post game a little more. that imo would take a competent coach that realizes and features each players strengths. d mo is the most dominant post player we have and should be the one on the low block doing so. if it gets good enough or if dmo can actually bang with the rest of the league, it might even draw another big down low to come over and help, making for an easy pass to dwight or an easy clean up dunk for dwight if dmo misses.

too bad we dont have one of those on the sidelines.... you know? a coach

 

It's more than halfway through the season. The team would have to completely go in the toilet offensively for there to be a regression to the mean.


My point it simple: Nooks point is invalid. He suggests that because teams can "sag off" Jones (due to a lack of jumpshot), which hurts out spacing.
In fact the opposite is true.
Where teams are 'sagging off' Jones, he is making a cut to the hoop, being rewarded with the pass, and finishing around the hoop. With him on the court, we score 5%ts better than with him off the court.

Now, I agree that it would be great for Jones to work hard.on his jumpshot this off-season. It will make his game much more multi-faceted, and give us a legitimate option. But he's not hurting our offense in the slightest with his shot being wonky currently.

 

Was about time. We scored like 130 last year once and this year we rarely did over 120. One was against Dallas and one against the Nuggets.

 

D. Mo with 3 very solid games out of the last 4. Hopefully he is turning the corner.

9 points and 9 rebounds in 22 min.
3 points and 3 rebounds in 21 min.
15 points and 7 rebounds in 24 min.
10 points and 5 rebounds in 18 min.

Some people seem like they pull for Jones at D. Mo's expense and vice versa. It's ok to root for them both even though they are in direct competition for playing time. If they are both rolling it is better for the team and makes what was considered a position of weakness prior to the season, a position of strength. Remember Scola and Landry. You can have two guys at the same position that bring something a little different to the table to contribute to wins. They have completely different skillsets and I hope they both reach their full potential on the Rockets.