I feel like D-MO's game needs some work, but mainly on the offensive end, finishing around the rim. I was at the game last night and noticed his shot from 5 feet and in, wasn't going in. Either work on your mid-range shot from 12-15 feet, work on your post game to where you can muscle inside enough to dunk the ball or both even. But I do like his footwork (his spins to the basket) and his rebounding. He just needs to finish and for the shot to fall.
I would prefer #2, but let's see what happens. I want to see this team grow a bit more. I have high hopes for D-Mo (and contrary to some on this board, I think his defense is fine for now).
What D-Mo needs right now is a veteran NBA big guy who can mentor him. Morey, why don't get Antonio McDyess to mentor all the young bigs?
Rebounding isn't an issue. Euroleague players are on average bigger than NBA players. The average height in Euroleague is taller than it is in NBA, even not accounting for the fact that many players in Europe are listed by barefoot height. Rebounding rate is LOWER in Euroleague and HIGHER in the NBA. Scola was a 5 rebound per game guy in Euroleague. Look it up. It's actually quite a bit easier to rebound in NBA than it is in Euroleague. So there should not be any problem with rebounding. The problem is he wants to stand at the 3 point line on offense. You can't be there to rebound when you do that. The problem is not his ability to rebound. It's his mentality. Anyone that can get 8 boards a game in Euroleague can rebound the hell out of the ball, provided they choose to play around the basket on offense, and not stand at the 3 point line. Since I know someone is going to claim I am lying.. http://www.euroleague.net/competition/players/showplayer?pcode=AJG&seasoncode=E2006 Just click on that link. Scola averaged 5.9 rebounds in his last year in Euroleague, and his career number was 5.6 rebounds per game. For his career he averaged 8.8 rebounds per 40 minutes in Euroleague. 7.9 rebounds in Euroleague is a HUGE number, even if it was on one of the worst Euroleague teams in years. That's still a hell of a lot of rebounds. He just can't stand behind the 3 point line.
He is standing right where PP and MM stood. It is part of the initial Rockets offensive set. If he moves to the paint the driving lanes for Lin and Harden disappear. However if you watch closely you will see D-Mo execute a curl through the paint after a shot looking for the offensive rebound. And it sometimes works well, and he is quite fast enough to get back on defense. Besides, he is looking like a fine 3 point shooter in the NBA.
You do realize that D-Mo's contract renegotiation will begin during the 2015 - 2016 season? He is under contract for a while yet.
He stands at the 3 point line because it's incredibly difficult to incorporate a low-post option to your offense mid-season. So far, no one on this team has practiced how to make entry passes, spacing the floor, cutting, etc. that you need to do properly to make a low post game work. It's not just a matter of "if DMo can post up then we do that." It takes everyone being on the same page, or the offense sputters. Currently, everyone knows where to go in a drive-and-dish system. That's why DMo's spoting up, because that's the system we've implemented. A large dose of Motiejunas inside game is very unlikely to happen before next season.
Yea, I know. So? Maybe I should be clearer. I'm saying let's skip this upcoming off-season in terms of signing major contracts. No need to tie up the cap unless we're talking actual superstar. FA class the year after looks better. In the meantime, we let this team percolate and see what we really have with some time and chemistry (then nab Kevin Love if necessary). That aside, picking up some a perimeter D guy and a utility rim protector would be nice to come off the bench.
He was on pace to do just that, then the coaches noticed that we were up by 17 and Harden only took 3 shots, so an adjustment had to be made. J/K. Well, the answer is, sure he can be, if he ever gets traded.
I'm going to say 19/8/4 makes him - conservatively - a top 25 player. Will D-Mo be a top 25 player in the league? That would be awesome, but I wouldn't bet on it.
I didn't say anything about posting up. I am saying he should not be standing behind the 3 point line.
I can't believe this thread is 4 pages. Only 13 players in this whole league average above 19 points and only 2, Aldridge and David Lee, average above 8 boards. http://espn.go.com/nba/statistics/p...er-game/sort/avgPoints/year/2013/seasontype/2 I thought Lin fans were delusional but this is taking it to a whole new level. It's like most of you guys are trolling each other and I'm not part of this inside joke.
That affects his offensive rebounding, which has been great anyway (3 in each of the last 2 games). I'm more concerned with his defensive rebounding. To me, it just looks like he needs to get stronger and he'll be just fine.
19 ppg or more and 8 rpg or more (You guys realize those are Yao Ming and Chris Bosh numbers), average this year: LaMarcus Aldridge David Lee Blake Griffin Al Jefferson (17.7 ppg and 9.4) Al Horford (17 and 10) Demarcus Cousins (17 and 10) Dwight Howard (16 and 11) Nikola Pekovic (16 and 9) Zach Randolph (15 and 7) Let's be realistic, here and give this thing some time.
If he's not spoting up for a 3, and Harden/Lin don't have room to penetrate with both Asik and Motiejunas inside, where do you want him to stand?
