It doesn't count against him if he doesn't contest a shot because he's on the ground. My guess is that's why he only contests 35% of shots- he usually tries to draw charges.
Marc Gasol was the #1 center in DRPM last year. He's also among the league leaders in defensive box plus/minus most years along with the usual suspects like Noah, Duncan, and Bogut. But let's ignore any stats that don't fit our biases.
Oh, I know how good Gasol is, so are Splitter and Davis. My point being that is probably not the best stat if those three are ranked so low.
Yeah, I don't think there is a single stat for defense that can show how good a player is. That was my original point to the people who said DMo is elite because of one stat. I believe it was Morey at the Sloan conference who said the public defensive information is terrible. And I think Haralabob said each individual stat is terrible, but all together you can get a better picture. If you look at Dwight's defensive shot chart...guys barely shoot inside the paint when he's in the game. It's hard to find a stat that accounts for that.
I think DxRAPM is the best stat, but even that is a flawed number. Take D-Mo for example. His number was terrible for the first few weeks or so, then as he began to get regular minutes it started to go up quickly. His number was over 2 at one point. But since Dwight went out, and he has been forced to slide over to a position where he is less effective it has been coming down consistently.
THIS. You nailed it buddy. +1 I think its not coincidence that DMOs rebounding numbers have dropped since he start logging heavy minutes at Center. He is actually an above average rebounder ~7 rpg when playing PF and was an elite rebounder in Europe (yes I know, caveats all around). However, at the Center position he has to go up against bigger/stronger guys and I've noticed that he DOES in fact box out pretty well against them, but is more in a holding pattern to prevent them from getting the rebound--he doesn't try to box them out AND go for the rebound, but rather hopes he can hold off the big man and let one of his teammates get it instead--def. something I've noticed since he started at C. As a PF, he can allow Dwight to protect the rim and rebound, freeing him up to compete with the PF and do more defensive rotations...that is his strength. I think we'll see an uptick in rebounds once Dwight is healthy.
I've noticed this too. D-mo could easily artificially inflate his rebound numbers by going after some of those free gimme rebounds, but he is content to let his teammates grab them. That accounts for his comically low rebound numbers. It's the rebounds in traffic (the important ones) where him at the 5 is killing us.
I agree but that doesn't seem like something that can be fixed as long as he is playing Center (or he focuses on it in the off-season). For all the criticism he gets for his poor rebounding, I do notice him blocking out the center and often tipping the rebound out to a wing player--it would of course be better if he had the strength to do both but he can't. Lets get a healthy Dwight back and DMO's deficiencies will become less apparent.
If Jones continues playing as well as he was before the collapsed lung, no doubt he starts IMO. He's just been more efficient and impactful than DMo, and his skillsets compliment the starting unit very well, give it another dimension so to speak. I would be surprised if McHale doesn't return to our original starting lineup of Jones at PF next to Dwight by season's end, unless of course the collapsed lung keeps Jones out longer than expected.
The lineup SHOULD be Dwight + TJones. But, given that they are both currently injured, it might make more sense to stick with a 'constant' in DMo, and keeping him as the starter. Jones is far more effective as a starter (16ppg + 9rpg with 2bpg), but is it too much of a change of gears this late in the season to suddenly go with Jones + Dwight at the starting spots? In the playoffs, we are most likely only playing an 8 man rotation, which means 1 big off the bench + Brewer + Terry. Smith will be the big off the bench, so something inside tells me that either of DMo or TJo won't play heavy post-season minutes. The 'play it safe' option is to keep DMo going, but the more reasonable option is to get Jones straight back next to D12 asap. Nice problems to have
Well yea, that's certainly the argument for keeping DMo as the starter, and it's very possible McHale sees it this way as well and keeps with him at PF. Who knows what he decides. My argument though is that Dwight coming back will already change some things and those two worked so well together early in the season (just 4 games I know) and last season. Plus, Jones and Smith have a lot of overlapping skills, both can handle the ball, both can block shots, both can hit an occasional three, and both can attack off the dribble. I think starting Jones would space the floor for Dwight better, get out in transition, get another ball handler out there besides Harden and I just think it makes us more versatile as an offensive unit. And especially since Dwight's minutes will be limited you can bring in DMo for extended periods off the bench and feature him on offense with the 2nd unit.
The lung injury to Jones may have changed things, if he is out for awhile I doubt McHale just throws him into the starting lineup with just a few games left. Just another factor to consider as well.
Asik is a mediocre shot blocker. But he's considered a very good rim protector. ... not saying DMo is on Asik's level. Anyway, I've been saying this many, many times. There are really no good publicly available stats that measure individual defense. We are pretty much left with the eye test, which is very subjective. There is really no point being so gung ho about how good or not good DMo's defense is. Personally, I believe he is a good overall defender but not a "rim protector" in the normal sense.
Did anyone else keep smirking the more D-Mo kept abusing and bamboozling Hibbert on the post? I cannot believe some people honestly tried to make an argument that he a) is the best defensive big in the league... let alone b) the best C in the league.
I don't think Mchale was ever gonna pull DMO out of the starting line up. The guy is the best shooting big we have, and he plays smart positional defense. With dwight healthy his rebounding is not needed as much as before. Jones/Smith are definitely the backup bigs. In the playoffs i expect a rotation of Harden, Howard, Dmo, Ariza, Brewer, Smith, Jones, and Terry/Pablo(they count as one).
X Factor is back when he plays his natural position at PF. As long as Dwight Howard accepts his role as a rich man's Tyson Chandler, DMo has a chance to become a poor man's Dirk Nowitzki.
