D-Mo's defense is like night and day compared to last year. He has all of the tools to become a dominant center in the NBA. He just needs to put them all together. And the guy is just huge this year. 7 foot and 265 or so pounds, with the frame to add another 20 pounds. I cannot see Morey trading him.
Truly big men take years to develop. The center position is the most difficult defensive position to play in the NBA. They are not just responsible for their own man, they are responsible for every opponent on the floor that comes within eight feet of the basket. His current situation is complicated by the Rockets aspiring for a title this year. Patience.
Yes, this. However, I think it is possible to both develop and contend, witness Sam Cassel and Robert Horry back in the Rox championship years. DD
You are certainly right. But the Rockets are an extremely talented team on a mission and I think that McHale will work him in as a center. Right now he might be the biggest power forward in the league, and has great size for a center. Time will tell. And in an Asik trade I would imagine that Morey is calculating whether the Rockets need a backup center in return. Jones and Smith just don't have the size nor the positional awareness to be sufficient, but D-Mo may be getting there quickly.
He has a lot more talent than Asik, and is taller, quicker, more athletic, just inexperienced, and tends to try too hard. Asik is really good at playing within his capabilities, DMo needs to learn that too. DD
We are not contending this year. Our bench, and at times overall talent isn't quite there. If he deserves it, then DMo should get some time. I think he's proven that he is not a "stretch 4"....he's a center, and the Rockets know it. If he can develop into a reliable defender, then he will have a spot on this team.
If he can continue to play well then of course he should play. But I'm not even close to convinced after one game...
There is no telling how much he's improved. He hasn't gotten many minutes. And the minutes he did get (not counting last night) were underwhelming.
Agreed. Casspi can be a disaster at the 4. It's possible that a little investment in playing time for DMo will at least net an improvement at that spot. People tend to forget that in certain stretches last year, DMo played some nice defense. Granted, he is inconsistent and at times the game looks a little fast for him, regardless of how much frenetic movement he displays; but these are traits typical of a young big who lacks minutes. Not saying he will definitely develop further, but only that he might be worth a few more minutes, given that competition for the back-up 4 spot is not exactly strong. If he could regain some confidence in his shot, he might just be able to edge out Casspi. One other thing to note about DMo. Observe how many times he sets a good pick and rolls clear to the basket. Sometimes he creates a ridiculous amount of space, and the ball handler never sees him (this happened last year with Omer as well). Many missed opportunities there. The guy does some fundamental things pretty well, but those things are not capitalized on. More playing time might help that.
And The Beard on the floor. Yes, beauty. DMo has skills. Last night should help his trade value because he won't get (regular) minutes here, this year. DMo will be missed when he gets his NBA legs under him and blows up - - elsewhere.
Haha. Obviously this was coming. His best game ever and he got what, 4 pts 3 Rebs??? Oh but it was his defense? Yes let's use one game as a sample rather than every other game he plays along with the practices and scrimmages the coaches and staff get to evaluate.
I noticed this quite a bit also. Lin and Harden are scoring minded guys. Hitting the man on the roll is not their primary goal. This actually seems true of most of the team. Bigs set a pick and the ball handler tries to score, even crossing the path of the roll man, clogging his path to the basket. A pass first point guard would go a long way in this team.
I completely disagree with you. If the Rockets can remain healthy they have enough talent and depth to win against any team in the NBA. Example: the Spurs at home. Harden and Howard are the best players at their position in the NBA, Parsons and Lin are certainly above average at their positions. If that is not enough talent I don't know what is.
Against teams like the Grizz you have to play big and Dmo came up big and was a needed presence down low when Zbo was bullying the likes of Cassp, etc. Asik was the key to beating the Grizz the last time and Dmo presence down low was key to Rox keeping them at bay last night. The key again is consistency. With Asik injury issues, I wouldn't mind them incorporating Dmo in a little more especially with Smith out too. The Rox get bullied too often down low when Howard goes to the bench lately.
In the NBA you never know if the coaches and staff get it all right. Sometimes, it is the system and the fact that there are guys ahead of you and they are your perennial stars who will play ahead of you regardless what you do. Young players could have improved and matured to a point they deserve minutes but they don't until the chance opens up. Lin would not have Linsanity without other guards all injured and the Knicks losing their last 11 or 12 games before Linsanity. Paul George would not get his chance to shine until Granger got injured a long time, giving George the extended minutes to prove his skill and worth. You simply cannot use a rookie's mistakes or inexperience to gauge a player's current ability when given the chance and the minutes. If we had been successful to get Iggy, you think Parsons can play like what he is playing right now? I am not saying DMo is going to be a star after one game. But right now we are in need of a good backup C & PF and DMo's development will give us that comfort in these positions.
While I agree with this, even when healthy, they need more consistency to win a 7 game series against the better teams. Time -> Chemistry -> Consistency
