i mean, if the guy has the best low post moves on your team, and he's the best at catching and scoring the ball on the cut, why wouldn't you relegate him to being a 3-pt shooter?
agreed It's assinine to not allow your best low post player to get the ball and force the defense to adjust. He has the moves and the touch down low to force defenses to help in the post, which of course frees up perimeter shooters for open threes. That's a formula that has worked for many teams, including the Dream Rockets and the Yao Rockets....I think that it would be effective in this case.
Just shows how much this "McHale great with big's" theory goes.. McHale IS NOT a better bigman developer than other coaches out there. Just see how much PF's his "developed".. Makes me so pissed!
Yeah I saw that comment by D-mo last night on twitter. That was rough. Really feel sorry for him. That is why I always say there are a lot of talented NBA player but sometimes they just don't find the right coach. I really hope McHale lets D-mo spread his wings a little more next season. His confidence is low right now. Depresses me,
I don't know why you guys think DMo has a good post game. He doesn't. Not yet, at least. He has a couple moves and that's it. And they all rely on a pump fake. If the defender doesn't buy the pump fake, DMo is screwed. He first needs to develop a hook shot or fadeaway. Then, once that shot has become effective, his pump fakes will actually mean something. You need to have a go-to post move before you have a counter post move. Until then, the defender just stays planted to the ground and DMo ends up losing his balance and turning the ball over. Sure, he might be able to successfully fool defenders once or twice (I doubt twice) in a game with his pump fakes, but it doesn't happen regularly. And in a playoff series, you can bet your ass that the opposing team will know to stay grounded against DMo. As I've been saying for months now, I think the best way for DMo to get more consistent playing time is to get a better outside shot and rebound better (which he has done since moving out of the starting lineup). Then, over the next few years, work on developing a go-to post move. Then, profit.
Synergy says DMo scores 1.04 ppp on post-ups, good for 4th in the league FWIW. 18 out of 28 FGs for 64.3% on 40 such plays (13% of his plays in total). On the other hand, he's had 92 (33% of his plays) spot-up opportunities on which he's shooting 29.8% at 0.77 ppp. I agree w/ Aruba77 in that DMo is being misused in the current system. I was hoping for more integration of DMo's post abilities on the offensive end... Yes, he needs to be more physical, show more hustle, fight for rebounds, and defend better. And that's all on DMo, but the point still stands that he's not being utilized properly.
Easy answer. You're supposed to fit in with Harden's game, not the other way around. With the exception of a superstar on the team, if you don't fit, then Morey should trade you.
It's not as simple as "Let DMo do his thing". You have to think about what he cost us on the defensive end, as well as how "letting him do his thing" impacts the offense as a whole, production-wise. If DMo adds weight, improves his shooting, and improves his defense over the offseason, he will be our starter opening day next year. He is more diversified as a post player than Smith is, and he's closer to being ready than TRob is. IMO, our PFs can be divided into two groups: TRob/DMo: High upside players that will take time to develop. It may be another year before we know what path their careers will follow. Smith/TJones: Solid NBA players that are ready now, but don't have the upside of TRob/DMo.
Those are good numbers. 18 out of 28 is very good, obviously. But with only 28 attempts, I personally don't read too much into it. I watch his post moves and his fluidity and body control are just not where they need to be. I think a lot of that is him being a rookie and adjusting to the faster pace, but regardless, I don't think he is ready to post up with regularity. I realize that the whole "my subjective eye test > your stats" argument isn't persuasive, but I can't ignore the lack of polish (to put it gently) in his post game.
For sure, it's an extremely limited sample size and Synergy just pumps out raw stats w/ little to no context w/o the vids. Moreover, I agree with your general point that DMo is hella awkward (have you seen him run? Flailing limbs all over the place). I'm just saying a bit more effort could have been made by the coaching staff in integrating DMo's post up game. More opportunities = chances to polish his game and realize what works and what doesn't in-game. But whatever, not a big deal; we'll see next season - just something of a small disappointment.
Don't construe this as an attack, because I want to agree with you fully. The problem is D-Mo can't pass, and I mean at all. So, even if the defense collapses on the post it won't help. Maybe next year....
